Never Let Go
by A-ccentric
Summary: When Lucy leaves everything behind and abandons a betrayed Natsu, what happens when a stranger comes begging them to save Lucy's life? Will they be willing to put their lives on the line to stop the Mastermind who took Lucy, from taking over Fiore's strongest army? When Natsu's heart is put to the test, will he forgive her or will he let her go? -complete-
1. Save Her

**NEW STORY! Gosh, it's been a while since I published one. I say this story is new but actually I've been working on it for about a year and a half and only just finished it recently. **

** This new story (Set before the time skip BTW) is one filled with drama, and I'll admit serious conspiracies but I hope you like the story line and keep reading!**

**(Bold Names= P.O.V)**

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Never Let Go  
Chapter 1: Save Her

**NATSU/LUCY**

"S- someone like me is just causing you trouble..." her voice cried. There was no need for her to turn her face, Natsu could already smell the salt of her tears.

"Luce-" Natsu tried. Lucy was wrong. Everything she was saying was so wrong. It hurt Natsu to hear her say such things to him.

"No Natsu." She whispered in a hoarse mutter. "I- I have to go. I've caused too much trouble for Fairy Tail...for you. You've all been hurt too many times."

"Lucy!" Natsu wailed in a harsh cry. She had to stop. Never before had Natsu felt so much pain. It hurt. It hurt so much, mercilessly ripping his heart from his chest. "Lu-"

"Goodbye, Natsu." She took her first step and her whole body quivered at the intense weight hanging on every inch of her body. Walking away from Natsu was like trying to walk through stone. Each step she took felt even worse, wrenching at every one of her muscles to move.

"Lucy! You're wrong!" Natsu snapped, furious rage burning at the ice running over his heart. His fist clutched his chest, grasping at the heavy aching inside his chest. "You think you can run away?"

Lucy gasped. Her feet froze. Her pale hand caught her chest, clinging desperately to the sapphire necklace around her neck. She held it tightly, knowing that if she let go, she'd reach back to the world she needed to leave behind.

"You think we get hurt because you caused us trouble? ...How stupid." Natsu chuckled in a pitiful breath. "I thought you were smart Lucy. I thought you would never give up, never run from a true fight. I thought you'd know..." Natsu's head snapped up in one last plea from the last warmth left in his heart. "Fairy Tail never cared if you caused trouble! Because we protect and fight for our friends! We fought for you! I fought for you Lucy. Natsu's whole body rattled as his muscles tensed to the point of almost ripping themselves apart. His hands clenched in balls of fury until his knuckles turned white and red from the nails cutting into his skin. "Don't go..." His voice sank into a whispering wail, tears finally tempted to roll from his eyes.

Not saying anything more, she left.

**...**

_Two years later..._

**EMI**

"So this is Magnolia huh? It's a strange place..." The figure admired, picking out the landmarks she recognized from description. "It's exactly how_ she_ described it." The figure pulled up her hood and made way into the city.

Music played cheerfully as travelers danced in fluent movements on lively feet. Salesmen chatted and flattered people of all ages to try their different foods. Drunkards exploded from the doors of inns as their bodies wrapped around each other in a ragged fight. Men and woman jeered from the sides; some were drunk, others curious and some even considered it a sport to see which of the several drunk and disorderly would be left standing.

It seemed like it was a long time ago since she had met the strange traveler, who had saved her that fateful day.

However, it had only been two years and to think that every detail she included was still alive and kicking in the present. Even shops, restaurants and memorable people were as she had told, even two years into the future. At first she had doubted the stories thinking 'there's no way a city with such life could exist'. Before she had arrived, wonders of the world seemed to be like a myth or fairy tale. Then that night and similar nights came, and awoke the stories that let her see the beauty within the world. Like a child always dreams, she had developed a dream. From those stories, her wish was born; she wanted to see Magnolia.

At last, her dream had become reality. For good and bad reasons, she was able to see the world she thought of as the most magical place on Earthland. One thing she didn't want, was the hindering shadow that lead her to seek her dream land, cast over her as she moved among her treasured place.

Nevertheless, if her mission was to fail, she feared all she would see when looking on the city, would be the guilt and grief that would overcome her heart.

As she moved towards the edge of the city, her heart beat pounded harder and harder as she moved closer towards her destination. It became pretty much impossible for her to look around and admire her surroundings when she realized it would soon come into view. When it did, she almost collapsed, overwhelmed.

To the exact detail, it was how_ she_ said it was. Its banner proudly swaying in the breeze, its towering high walls standing tall, the cast iron gates and the two wooden doors that closed the entrance.

Taking a deep breath, she drew all the courage she could muster and closed in on the doors. Their soft, gentle texture warmed her hands just like it always did to_ her's_ as she pushed against it.

Noise almost exploded from the doors through the little open crack. Quickly, the girl closed it again, panting in surprise. "That shocked me." She whispered through gasping breaths. It was loud, she was told that. It was wild, she was told that too. But that wasn't as wild and loud as she was expecting; it was abundantly more.

Gathering her shattered confidence once more, she tightened the hood around her shoulders, and pushed the door open again. There was no time for her to be delayed by a petty excuse like being concerned for your life when going into such a dangerous place. In the end, she opened them with a bang.

Attention seeking: accomplished! Not. The sound of the door bouncing off the walls barely made a dent in the abnormal and deafening cheers of the crowd. People were flying everywhere. Some hung off the ceiling's rafters at almost three stories high. Others were involved in fights; drinking, fighting, gambling and others of the like. The wide variety of appearances were eye-catching and slightly amusing.

A few, she was able to pick out via the descriptions she had been given.

There was a woman drinking a barrel of wine with several empty ones piled next to her; Cana, the notorious drinker.

Another had her nose wrapped up in a book. She had blue wavy hair and an orange ribbon pushing it back.

Next to her was a taller, buff man with long, black and spiky hair. Surprisingly, she wasn't kidding when she was told he had nails for eyebrows. It was both amusing and disturbing.

The pair must have been Levy and Gajeel.

One more she was able to see through the crowd, was a silver haired woman, wiping a glass at the bar; Mira.

Deciding it might be best to inquire publicly, she made way for the girl at the bar who would be her source of information. Ducking, dodging and sliding through and around fights and flying spells, managing to jump over rolling things, she eventually made her way to the bar.

She had managed to pick out a few more familiar characters on her journey; Juvia, Laxus, Elfman -who wasn't hard to miss- and the Raijinshu; Freed, Bixslow and Evergreen. Some more looked familiar but she wasn't able to place a name, so she dismissed them.

Sliding onto a stool with a small jump, she let her legs swing a few inches above the stool bar which she couldn't reach.

After a moment, the soft motherly voice she heard about was directed at her.

"Hey. My name's Mira. Are you new? Or do you just need help with something? You can ask me whatever you like!" She proclaimed with an enticing friendliness.

"I'm looking for someone." She spoke in a raised mutter, careful to keep quiet but also making sure she could be heard over the loud upheaval behind them. One thing she hated to do was to repeat herself.

"And who might that be?" She smiled calmly, putting down her glass and leaning closer to the bar. It was obvious her eyes were trying to peek under her hood. Mira was said to be the rather curious type, especially with relationships.

"Natsu- Natsu Dragneel." She tried to speak with the same monotone voice while shouting his identity, but she felt it falter a little. A little girlish nervousness had slipped through. Covering it with a cough, she turned her eyes away and adjusted her hood.

"Natsu...hmm...?" The girl wondered, stroking her hair from her pretty face as she scanned the guild. When she caught a familiar face, her expression brightened a little. "Gray!" she called over to a pit of men, waving her hand to signal to him to come closer.

After a few moments, a man staggered from the crowd half-naked. Surprised and embarrassed, she turned her head away. She knew quite a lot about Gray and was surprised to hear about his subconscious stripping habit. At first it sounded ridiculous. After seeing it first hand, she regretted and apologized for her doubt.

"Yeah?" He grumbled, as he pulled on his shirt and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Have you seen Natsu?" Mira asked plainly. It seemed she had become accustomed to seeing Gray half-naked.

"No. He went somewhere after we got back from the mission this morning." Gray reported, glancing back over his shoulder at the on-going.

"It's the 28th today." A new voice interjected. Turning her head to her right, she caught sight of the famous armor and scarlet-red hair.

Unfortunately, she could only raise her hood a little or else her face would be visible.

An excitement couldn't help but bubble inside of her as she realized that she had met two out of the six members of the strongest team; Gray Fullbuster and Erza Scarlet!

"Ah, he's paying the rent-" Mira deduced before a ridiculously loud bang echoed in the guild. Even when she opened the doors with all her strength, she couldn't make a fraction of the sound that rang in her ears.

"I heard my name!" A voice roared as something ploughed through the crowd, directly heading towards the group gathered at the bar.

After people went flying like bowling pins, he had cleared his way and came into sight. Pink hair poked out in random directions. Sandals stuck to his feet, adding at least an inch or two to his height. A vest and matching pants hung onto his muscled body, and dark, onyx eyes glared forwards.

She almost gasped at the detail-for-detail version of _her_ words, stood in front of her alive. She had described him perfectly -to the very last aspect. Even as he charged straight for Gray, her eyes stayed locked on him, not caring if the lower of her face became visible.

"What were you saying about me, ice princess?" He growled in a challenging tone -Apparently like he always did- to the innocent ice mage tugging his shirt off.

"I didn't say anything, match stick!" Gray retorted as she knew he would. And predictably, two hard gauntlets smashed on top of their heads with an unnerving force as titania broke up the fight.

"Natsu, you have a visitor." Mira alerted the boy.

"But I wasn't expecting a visitor?" Natsu moaned, completely oblivious to the girl stepping off the stool only for to be about 2/3 of the dragon slayer's height at most.

"Idiot! Don't say it while she's stood right there!" Gray scolded.

"You wanna go, twinkle toes?" Natsu growled again. Almost _Deja vu_ worthy, Erza's gauntlet diffused their fight again.

Natsu rubbed his head sorely as he turned to face the girl at last. Closing the distance between their heights, he brought his face abnormally close to hers. She blushed with embarrassment and desperately smothered the small squeal that tried to come out. Dark eyes scowled at her hood with suspicious curiosity.

With a deep breath, she lifted her hands to pull back her hood making Natsu's face reclined. She was barely a teenager with electric blue hair sunk beneath the collar of her cloak and pale silver eyes that glared at the group full of determination. "My name is Emi. I came here ask for your help."

"Help? What for?" Gray wondered, seeing tears pricked on the younger girls eyes.

In a swift move, she bowed. "Please help me save _her._ Help me save Lucy!" She cried, her resolve disintegrating into a plea.

A cold silence dropped around the room.

Natsu's broken voice shattered the atmosphere, his tone low, dark and ice-cold.

"_Lucy?"_

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_Next: Chapter Two: He Still Cares_

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**If you liked _Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	2. He Still Cares

Never Let Go  
Chapter Two: He Still Cares

**GRAY**

"The girl says that she met Lucy two years ago." Mira reported, turning to Erza and Gray.

Natsu hadn't moved from his seat in the booth they had settled in. Dark onyx eyes were fixed on the young, blue-haired girl. It seemed surreal to him; some kind of joke, she must have been kidding him.

Lucy had disappeared that night two years ago. They didn't have any clues they could use to find put where she was going, or where they could find her. There had been rumors spread about her since her disappearance. Nothing big, just that she'd been seen. But even that was unreliable. Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't the only blonde-haired, brown eyed mage. Celestial mage had been included in the information but there were no sightings on spirit wizards fitting the physical description. It had been six months since the last rumor had found its way to the guild, and to Natsu.

Natsu's feelings for Lucy had been unclear since that day. Something deep inside of him wished for her back, but a big part of him was deeply hurt and smothered that other piece.

"You should go back, kid." Natsu finally spoke. Emi's eyes shot his way, directly hitting his impassive face. Big arms folded over his chest and his back reclined into the leather booth. Dark onyx eyes looked straight at her face, unfazed by her obvious expression of shock.

Disbelief pounded through her. Her silver eyes shot around, desperate for them to tell her that he was kidding. Apparently he wasn't.

Even those around him gave a quick glare of surprise. Gray's face didn't move; it just looked stiffly down at his feet. Emi could see the pain grimaced in his expression. His bottom lip curled under his teeth, his eye brows fastened together and his eyes squeezed shut.

He knew what Natsu would say. But he had hoped just a little that he wouldn't. His hope had been misplaced.

Erza must have felt the same way. Her plain friendly expression with down-played seriousness had turned cold. Not ice cold but stone cold; a boulder forcing itself not to move.

Mira simply turned her head away, a shadow casting over her eyes.

Emi's focus snapped back at the casual dragon slayer. Panic rose in her chest, forcing her body up and forwards in a darting lunge. "What the hell?" She screamed at him, slapping her small palms against the wood of the table.

"I said..." Natsu replied slowly, letting his deep voice travel clearly in the air. "Go back." His posture didn't move and his eyes didn't stray. They locked on with a steely glint in his dark eyes.

"I heard you the first time!" Emi snapped back, her voice rang through the guild like thunder. "I won't go back. Lucy needs your help. Why won't you help her?"

"You came to a guild asking for help for a person who isn't even a part of it anymore." Natsu responded, his voice not raising even a notch.

"So what?" She snapped, her body teetering forward, eyes burning at the dragon slayer like silver flames. "You're Fairy Tail. You don't care whether they're a member or not!"

Natsu's eyes didn't even blink. They just watched her with a calm and an unnervingly still presence. "And what do you know about Fairy Tail?" His voice took a sharp, sarcastic tone but it was only noticeable because there was nothing else hidden in his voice.

"Everything." Emi declared, waving her hands in a giant gesture. "Lucy told me everything. She told me how Fairy Tail saved anyone, member or not!" Emi screamed, her hands slamming back down onto the table.

"She's your friend!"

A dark shadow quickly crossed Natsu's face. His steely eyes turned dark and cold like flicking off a light. They narrowed into a sharp, piercing gaze that cut into her like she was butter. His blank expression transformed into a hard, sharp face.

The dragon slayer lunged from his seat, his hands flattening against the wood. Muscles under his skin shook and rippled with burning tension. Emi felt the rock of the table under her hands, she sensed the new-found fragility of what she thought was strong wood. As soon as Natsu touched it, the wood felt like it could break at any second.

Emi's eyes whirled back to his. In them, she was shocked to find that he was fighting hard to hold back. That, she feared, was frightening. "She..." His voice growled in a terrifying whisper. "is not my friend." Natsu whole presence exploded with strength, twisting the atmosphere into a thick, blackening clot of darkness. Its overwhelming pressure was crushing her, warping her in the blackness escaping from him. Knees buckled and legs crumbled, forcing her back into leather seat, succumbing under the weight smothering her strength.

A hand tightened around his biceps in a bone crushing grip. Gray's back was facing her as his body chipped in front of Natsu's. Gray's head inclined forward, resting next to the dragon slayer's face. His shoulder edged in front of his. Muscles twitched and shuddered under his pale bare back. They flickered between sternness and an anger that was compressed into strength. It was a threat.

Gray's grip squeezed Natsu's arm a little more, trying to break into the dark abyss Natsu was teetering over the edge into. "Back down." Gray growled, his hand biting down sharply.

Natsu's head whirled on Gray. It was only subtle, but even the ice mage flinched.

Natsu's body was flung into reverse, his walls shooting upwards in a flash. The dark piercing eyes were captured by steel. His rigid body unwound, and hardened. The sharp set face turned still and emotion faded instantly.

Tension and strength which rippled through Gray's arm subsided and his grip stiffly uncoiled from around the dragon slayer's arm.

Natsu didn't move for a long while that must have only been a second, but felt like it was dragging on for years.

When he did eventually move, he swiftly navigated through the guild, and glided to the doors. A hand quickly gripped onto the iron handle of the door, his arm gathering enough force to push it open.

He paused. Fluttering edges of his vest settled against his tanned abs. There was no turn of his head, not even a glance. Just his voice. "She left this guild on her own." He echoed in a low, cold growl. A pause hung the air and his body was still.

Emi's head didn't turn or look. The young girl's body couldn't even move. She was frozen, fixed in her place. Water welled in her soft silver eyes, rimmed with white shock, staring at the empty space in front of her.

Pink hair flinched as Natsu's head moved barely an inch. His voice dropped into a low cold monotone, sharp enough to slice through the air like a dagger. "She can save herself." Creaking doors swung open and closed with a rattling boom.

Tears rolled down her white, pale cheeks, as her body keeled over in utter, horrifying defeat.

**...**

**EMI**

After several hours had passed, Mira managed to break through to the young, traumatized girl. With a warm blanket and hot tea, Emi remained quiet.

That was not the Natsu she was told about. He must have been a twin, a doppelganger, a shape shifter. Anything but himself.

Although a child's naivety was welcoming, she couldn't accept it. That was the real Natsu Dragneel. That was the person who had saved Lucy's life countless times, made her laugh and had been there for her. But those joyful memories had been warped into a darkness that protected his wounded heart.

Hope that had filled, fueled and drove her heart faded. Natsu was supposed to be key. Her plan was simple; Get Natsu, save Lucy. That's the way it went in Lucy's stories. Natsu had always saved her, even from the very beginning, intentionally or not. Not matter what was, is, or to be, Natsu was made to save Lucy.

That's what she believed. That statement that had been a fact as true as gravity, was crumbling into myth and Emi had no idea how to stop it.

"I'm leaving for now." Emi announced, tying the knot of her cloak around her slim shoulders. Her vibrant sapphire hair hid beneath the dark hood as she lifted it up over her face. "I'll come back this evening when it's time. Make sure you're ready to leave quickly. I'll tell you everything on the way there."

"Do you want someone to go with you, sweetie?" Mira offered, concern plastered over her face. Fabric rustled as Emi shook her head. Though the concern was still remnant on her face, she didn't protest or ensure any further.

"We will be waiting here." Erza said. "I will go and get Wendy, Carla and Happy." Erza moved a heavy metallic foot forwards in motion to move before a voice jumped from behind her.

"I'm coming too." Levy declared, carrying a small suitcase that looked oddly heavy for just clothes. Books, she supposed.

"Then I come." Gajeel announced. He, on the other hand, said that more spontaneously and didn't have luggage to enforce his declaration. It must have been spare of the moment panic for Levy.

"I suppose that includes me then." A black cat spoke, appearing behind the leg of the iron dragon slayer. A red scar crossed his left eye. That left her curious, even Lucy didn't know how he got it. It must have been from his days in the Edolas army. The Musica sword he got was strapped to his back with the capability to change size, just like its owner, Pantherlily.

A mix of unison and cannon calls began to voice up around the room, everyone declaring to help save Lucy. Something deep down inside Emi's heart moved. It sent an unfamiliar but very welcomed warmth across her body. Tears well up in the corner of her silver eyes, but she urged them not to fall. Though she tried, the joyful tears still rolled down her pale cheeks.

Mira gave her a quick glance and smiled softly, turning to look among the guild members.

"Everyone..." Emi hiccuped through her awkward sobbing.

"Everyone wants to help, because no matter what happened to Lucy, this is still her home." Mira smiled softly at the squabbling members, each claiming they should go.

"Lucy was right about you guys; you really are a strange guild." Emi laughed, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"This won't do." Erza shouted sternly, her hands sat on her hips. Silence fell over the crowd, all of them turning on her with surprise. "From what I hear, this isn't a mission we can all go on. You all can't go."

"If someone messes with Lucy they mess with all of us!" An anonymous voice yelled. A following roar of the crowd was supplied for agreement. Erza gave a reluctant sigh, wiping a hand down her face and grumbling under her breath. But Emi's small silver eyes managed to catch a glimpse of a smile on her lips.

In the end, Emi left them to settle it themselves. She knew time was of the essence and if she recalled how stubborn they were supposed to be, she didn't want to waste time where she was of no help.

Emi stepped out taking a deep breath of the humid evening air as the rays of the setting sun warmed her face. The big wooden doors slammed with a hard bang behind her.

A pang rippled through her heart as it called back up unpleasant memories. She remembered the Natsu she didn't recognize. Out of all of them, he was the one she was counting on the most, but instead, he had left her disappointed. It was so hard for her to understand why he didn't want to save her. Didn't he always save her? Natsu might be the only one who could change her mind.

Emi didn't know how Lucy had left things at home. She vaguely mentioned a little about it; just that she had left. A sadness always swept over her face at those times, like she could burst into tears at any second. It must have really, really hurt her.

Emi let out an empty sigh, releasing all her pent up anxiety.

"Tired?" A masculine voice popped up beside her. Emi whirled around to her right, letting the edges of her cloak whip through the air.

Casually leaned against the stone walls of the guild, fully dressed and painted by the evening sun was Gray. Its gentle amber touch made him glow with a golden tint. His hands in his pockets and his long dark hair fell gently over his calm, empty face. It made him look a little lonely. Emi thought that was strange, but the sorrow in his dark eyes solidified that thought, as they broke right into her. He looked, really and truly, sad.

"Gray?" Emi muttered, feeling her own heart squeeze in sorrow.

Gray straightened up, his hands still hanging in his pockets. "Fancy a walk?"

**...**

**EMI/GRAY**

Salted sea air blew strong and gentle over her face, rippling the edges of her dark cloak hood. The deep blue water crashed against the edge of the cliff face, echoing back a thunderous roar. Emi stared down at the water, feeling oddly peaceful and calm at the ferocious cries of the sea.

The sea breeze blew the black strands of hair away from Gray's pale face, rustling the long white coat around his shoulders. Although the sun had dimmed into evening, the pale colors of the sky still complemented the ice mage's background.

"This place...it's where Lucy liked to go right?" Emi asked openly, staring out at the horizon.

"Yeah; a dragon slayer's nose doesn't work too well near the sea with the scent being so strong and all." Gray began, kicking a small stone over the edge. A reminiscing haze covered his dark dazed eyes and a gentle, weary smile tugged the corners of his lips. "Natsu never left Lucy alone so she often came up here to think and escape. Everyone knew, but for her own sake, they didn't tell Natsu."

Emi nodded along, but didn't say anything. It seemed more like Gray was thinking aloud rather than specifically at her.

"Two years ago, when Natsu came back and told us she'd gone..." Gray trailed off. His face flinched a little, as if he was remembering something painful. She could imagine it was. "At first, we couldn't believe it. Lucy gone? It seemed like some kind of joke. " He laughed. "I really didn't think it was true but..." Gray froze, his voice abruptly cutting off. His dark eyes turned upwards looking at the open ocean with a small distress.

"But it was true." Emi filled in for him. Gray's eyes snapped over to her in surprise. Obviously he had forgotten she was even there. Gray's face reclined back into an unemotional calm. After a long hesitation, he turned back and nodded, sitting down onto the stone, cliff floor.

Emi waited a second and sat down beside him. "Natsu, he had it worst of all. After he told us, he almost ripped down the entire guild. Master managed to restrain him but in the end he just left. After that, we didn't see him for almost three months.

When he finally returned, he wasn't the same. I mean, he was but-... he wasn't. Everything that was Natsu was still normal, but it seemed he was completely rejecting Lucy's existence, as if he didn't even know who she was. Every time we tried asking him about it, he would just blow us off or ignore us completely. After losing Igneel, I think he couldn't cope with losing Lucy too. I'm sure he felt abandoned by her.

We all wished Natsu would never give up hope but... I guess he's human like the rest of us. It wasn't long before the guild realized it too. Since then, Lucy's name was rarely mentioned."

There was a long, heavy silence that drifted between the two for a while.

Emi finally broke it. "The three months...do you think he went looking for her?" She asked, keeping her voice plain and monotone.

"I'm sure he did." Gray replied very matter-of-factly. Emi nodded softly. She was sure he did too.

"I think he still cares about her." Emi added. "I mean- I hope-"

"He does." Gray cut in. Emi turned to look at him tentatively. "No matter what happened between them, he still cares about her. Did you hear where I said Natsu was when Mira asked earlier?" Gray asked, turning to face Emi.

"No. You said something about it being the 28th?" Emi replied. "Then Natsu-"

"Oh yeah. Interrupted me like usual I suppose." Gray chuckled. "Do you know what's special about the 28th?" Emi shook her head.

"Rent's due that day." He replied with almost a wisp of a grin.

"Rent? I didn't know Natsu had an apartment." Emi replied with a hint of surprise.

"He doesn't. The 28th is rent day for Lucy's apartment." Gray correct her.

"So, when you said he was paying the rent..." Emi continued, slowly putting the pieces together in her head.

"He was paying Lucy's." Gray smiled softly, his hand combing through his long dark hair. He flashed a small smile towards the young girl. Emi realized that little fact was the reason Gray still hoped inside. Emi beamed a smile back, rekindling her own hope with his, even if it was just a little. A little can go a long way.

"Feelings like that can't be suppressed that easily. But at the moment, Natsu is trying his very hardest to. I think that everyone, not just me, hopes Natsu can forgive her one day." Gray sighed. For the first time, Emi realized how tired Gray looked. But at that moment, he also looked relieved, as if a big weight had been lifted off his chest.

"Thank you, for telling me this." Emi thanked, rising up and patting the rubble off her clothes. Gray looked up giving her a short nod. A curious look also registered on his face as he looked into the girl's eyes.

"Don't tell me you're going to talk to him." Gray spoke with what seemed like stern disbelief but also sounded slightly amused.

"Someone's got to." Emi laughed. She quickly stuck her thumb up, pointing it at Gray with a smile. "Besides, if he won't listen to me, I'll just tie him up and force him to!" Emi skipped away with a skip in her step and a boot load of revived confidence.

Gray couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose there's no one better to talk to him than Lucy's protege." Gray chuckled. "Well, except you, Lucy." he spoke vaguely into the wind, taking a quick glance over his shoulder to the ocean. Maybe, there was a small chance she could hear him

...maybe not.

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_Next: Chapter Three: Isn't that enough_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	3. Isn't That Enough

Never Let Go  
Chapter Three: Isn't That Enough

**EMI/NATSU**

Short legs ran up the sloped grass, leaving Magnolia behind as its lamps began to light up in the darkening sky.

Emi realized, looking at the pale navy and cloudless summer sky, that she hadn't asked Gray where she could probably find the notorious dragon slayer. Then again, she didn't really have to. After listening to countless stories, including Gray's, she had a pretty good idea where he was going to be.

She panted and gulped air, trying to catch her breath when she finally reached flat land. The view from the top of the hill was magnificent. In the dull light, Magnolia was already glowing incandescent like a collection of Earthland-bound stars.

Emi's favorite stories ended on top of the very same hill where she stood. Natsu always inspired or encouraged Lucy there. It became a special place where they'd hang out together being the bestest friends they were.

Silver eyes looked up and scaled the medium height, thick trunk and lushly green tree that sat at the highest point in Magnolia. "You're still here?" A voice grumbled. Though it seemed irritated, Emi couldn't sense any malice or hostility coming from it. It definitely sounded guarded.

"I suppose you heard me coming from a mile away." Emi spoke rather blandly, trying to express distaste that she didn't really feel. Natsu sat on the grass beneath the tree. His arms folded against his chest as he leaned back into the bark with his legs stretching out in front of him. He sat with his eyes closed and his head tilting forwards. Anyone else would have thought he was asleep. The dragon slayer sat quietly, waiting to answer her. She didn't think he was thinking what to say. In all fairness she couldn't tell what he was thinking, not like the rest of them.

"I suppose you know about the strength of a dragon slayer's nose." he finally replied.

"Lucy told me." Emi bluntly stated. She expected some kind of response; a glare, tension, a flinch. Nope. He didn't even twitch. Once again, he just waited.

"I suppose she did." Natsu replied, very slowly. Silence came again. Emi now felt unsure whether she did want to talk to him again. After what happened in the guild, it was understandable. It may have been understandable, but to Emi, it was not acceptable. Natsu was the core strength she needed. This wasn't for her sake, it was for Lucy's.

"I need your help and you will help me." Emi, rather excessively loudly, declared.

"Haven't we been down this road?" Natsu moaned, sounding rather bratty than cute as Lucy thought it was.

"I don't care if we have." Emi snapped defiantly, sounding slightly childish herself. She marched quickly over to where Natsu sat and plopped down right next to him. As she sat, she managed to catch a faint glimmer of red around Natsu's upper arm, turning black and blue at the edges. It looked a lot like a hand; Gray's hand. Just thinking about how hard his grip was made Emi wince.

One of Natsu's eyes open a crack to give her a quick glance and lazy assessment. A very quiet breath escaped from his lips before he continued the silence.

"I know you still care for Lucy." Emi broke the silence, her voice more sensitive and gentle then before.

"I see." Natsu sarcastically grumbled, burying his chin deeper into his chest.

"I know you went looking for her for three months." Emi tried again. This time Natsu didn't reply, he just sat quietly. "I know-"

"You seem to know a lot for a kid." Natsu interrupted. Emi seemed to have taken his non-reply prematurely. Natsu didn't open his eyes but his lips were enough to show the brewing of hostility inside of him.

"I'm not a kid." Emi snapped. She didn't mean to, but she accidently let her voice slip, showing her unease.

Natsu puffed a heavy breath of air with an underlying growl. "Sure you're not." he retorted.

"Shut up!" Emi snapped, rising quickly to her feet. "I know what game you're trying to play!" Emi balled her hands into fists and summoned up a large, irritated breath. Screw taking it softly, she was angry. "YOU CAN STOP TRYING TO SCARE ME. IT WON'T WORK!" She yelled at the top of her voice. "LUCY NEEDS YOUR HELP AND I'LL DO EVERYTHING I CAN DO TO GET IT!"

Natsu's chest let out a cold, harsh laugh that twisted the pit of her stomach. It was a sharp, weird laugh that was so very wrong. The dragon slayer clutched his stomach, staggering to his feet like he couldn't breathe. Natsu leant a hand against the tree as he tried to catch his breath.

Suddenly, the laughing stopped dead. The hand fell back to his side, and the dragon slayer stood with perfect balance. "And what power would a little girl like you have?" Natsu's voice smoothly rumbled, his head hanging from his shoulders.

"Enough." Emi replied sternly, standing stern.

"Oh really?" Natsu grumbled. His head rose slowly, his pink hair unshadowing his eyes. Big black orbs of darkness locked onto her, crashing into her with enough force to knock her backwards. Emi's stance faltered and she staggered back a step. That was so much pain. It had buried and festered itself inside of him until he was brimming with it at the edges. Emi's eyes opened with shock, glaring in disbelief.

Natsu gave an awkward, almost sad, grin before he shifted his gaze. "Just...go." he growled, turning away.

Emi didn't realise she was holding her breath until she couldn't take it any longer. She gasped, feeling weak at the knees. Emi ignored her legs ache to run, to hide from the uncomfortable feelings pulling at her heart. She had ran enough.

"I told you it won't work." Emi spoke calmly, recovering herself. Natsu didn't look at her anymore. "You can't ignore me. Just like you can't ignore those feelings inside of you." Emi said.

"I don't have any feelings anymore. Not for..." Natsu grumbled, his voice trailing off.

"Lucy?" Emi provided smugly. "Like hell you don't." She bit back.

"I-" Natsu went to retort.

"You still care for her." Emi cut in.

"Shut up." Natsu growled and Emi ignored it.

"You've always cared for her." She continued.

"I said-" Natsu's voice rose, trembling with anger, but Emi still didn't care.

"You never stopped caring for her." Emi pushed.

Suddenly, Natsu whirled on her, his feet racing towards her. Emi stood her ground. Even when his gaze met hers, she just returned it. Enough was enough.

"Face it. You can't stop caring for her!" Emi focused, keeping her voice level. Natsu's face loomed up over her small fragile body. But right now, she made the exception of becoming steel.

"HOW DID YOU GET THE IDEA THAT I CARE ABOUT-" Natsu roared but Emi rose her voice higher and louder.

"BECAUSE YOU PAY HER RENT!" Emi screamed.

Natsu came to an abrupt halt. He actually looked...taken aback? His body staggered back a step in shock. Dark onyx eyes glared at her in surprise. For a second, Emi was able to see the vulnerability inside of him.

And then he turned away, blocking himself from Emi's advances. Emi was determined; she wasn't going to let him lock her out again. "Someone who doesn't care wouldn't be paying her rent!" Emi's voice rolled out in a speedy blur. "You can't ignore your feelings anymore. You're just hurting yourself."

Natsu moved away, shoving her backwards. It wasn't with a lot of force and not gentle either. It was more of a distracted push. She needed Natsu to focus on her, on her words.

"You need to help her. You need to save her. You can bring her home!" Emi yelled.

Natsu tried to ignore them, focusing his attention on the tree in front of them. Emotions inside of him began to fly, bolting and exploding like fireworks. They tried to grab him, convince him again. They hurt, torturing him with pain. He'd suppress them for so long. Why? Why did she want him to hurt? To suffer?

"If you don't, then you'll lose her forever." Emi's voice shattered falling into a shaken cry. "She'll die." Emi's legs collapsed beneath her as she fell into a frenzy of sobs and tears.

Ice shot through his heart like a spear. It burst and scattered through his body, taking everything in his grasp. Lose her? Hadn't he already lost her? She was gone, she's already lost... Forever? Natsu felt his world shatter, knocking him off his feet.

Natsu's body sagged back into the sturdy tree behind him, collapsing against its rigid trunk. His stiff, shaking hands caught his weak, heavy skull. Long legs stiffly coiled inwards. No matter how hard he tried, the armor was peeling away like paper. It all felt so cold...

Emi gulped back the tears, trying to stop her frantic sobbing. Her watery vision zoned in on the dragon slayer, curling into a ball, locking himself away.

"Natsu?" Emi whimpered, shuffling closer. "Natsu?" she called again, resting a hand on his arm. He felt cold... icy cold. Lightly tanned skin had turned a pale white. Shaking violently, his body chattered. "Natsu!" Emi shouted.

"I can't." Natsu whispered, his voice hollow and rough.

"Can't what Natsu?" Emi asked urgently, placing a second hand on his shoulder.

"I've lost her once already. Isn't that enough pain?" Natsu whimpered, his voice shaken and empty.

"Natsu. Do you think your pain can be healed by ignoring it?" Emi's young, gentle voice softened, her grip relaxing.

"I don't want it to hurt anymore." He whispered.

"Caring and pain are two sides of a coin. You cannot have one without the other. If you truly care, you can flip the coin as many times as possible until you get the side you want, no matter how many times you get hurt." Emi said, her voice sailing like a river into his dark self-reflecting world. All the muscles under his skin shifted, and his heart rate sped up just a little. It was enough.

Emi's hand hesitated a little longer before she finally let go. The young girl swiftly turned away from the dragon slayer and began to walk calmly down the hill, drying her damp face.

"Let me guess..." Natsu's dry, hoarse voice croaked behind her.

"Lucy told me." Emi replied, carrying on without turning around.

"Thought so." Natsu sniffed, straightening his stiff neck. "I think I'll try flipping that coin again." Natsu uttered, wiping away the tears from his wet cheeks.

"I'm glad." Emi whispered, a smile tugging on her lips.

**...**

**EMI**

When Emi arrived at the guild, darkness had already coated the sky in a charcoal navy. Magnolian streets beamed with incandescent light. Shops closed and people outside fewered. A loud, unforgettable racket still boomed out of the glowing building in the middle of the street. Emi only just noticed the irregular amount of 'For-Sale' signs that littered the area. For some reason, Emi found it oddly amusing and laughed.

Cautiously, Emi reached to open the door. The daytime sonic boom was frightening enough, she wasn't sure she could handle the night one. Emi had already faced off with an unruly and unpredictable dragon slayer twice today, the door was nothing.

Before she had the chance to open it, it swung open from the inside. Emi's hand froze in mid-air as she awkwardly looked up to meet Gray's dark eyes.

"Emi!" Gray half-exclaimed, half-laughed "Found you." he replied in a softer version of the same tone.

"Is that Emi?" A voice called from behind him.

"Yeah." Gray shouted back. A small cheer bellowed from behind him.

"Emi!" Mira smiled, pushing past Gray to let her in. "I'm glad you made it back all right." Mira sugar-coated her concern as she hauled her inside.

Emi darted out of her grasp as she noticed the red-haired armoured mage in the corner. Beside her was a small blue haired girl with two long pig tails, dressed in a blue and green dress with white swirls.

"Um...Hi, I'm-" The girl began shyly.

"Wendy Marvel right? Air dragon slayer? Youngest member of the strongest team in Fairy Tail!" Emi exclaimed, falling under the influence of her fan-girl. Wendy looked obviously shocked. Quickly regaining herself, Emi laughed nervously and apologise. She took down her hood, revealing her electric blue hair and silver eyes and offered out a hand. "I'm Emi. Lucy told me a lot about you." Emi greeted properly. Wendy lit up like Christmas lights; a strange way to describe it but it was as accurate as Emi could get.

"I'm Wendy. Did Lucy really talk about us?" Wendy smiled gleefully, shaking her hand gently. Emi gave her an answering nod, making her smile glow brighter. "I promise I'll do everything to help."

"I look forward to working with you!" Emi replied joyfully. Wendy wasn't much older than Emi herself, a year or two at most. The thought of someone similar to her age being in Team Natsu gave her hope.

"You always try your best, Wendy." A higher pitched, more sophisticated voice cut in.

"Carla!" Emi exclaimed. A white, primer cat stood collectively on the top of the adjacent table. Carla decided to divert the over-excited gleaming eyes away from her. Strangely the glitter seemed to be spreading to Wendy. "And if you're talking in terms of age, the youngest is actually the he-cat." Carla added, holding a small blue fish caught between two claws, at chest-level.

"He-cat?" Emi pondered, running the nickname over and over in her head. "Oh, you mean Happy!"

Bang on cue, a blue blur of fur whizzed by her ear, the sound catching up behind it. It appeared laid on the table under Carla's feet a second later. "Carla, you wish to feed me!" A blush highlighted his cheeks with an indecently misplaced red. Without a glance his way, Carla dropped the fish. Unfortunately for the present 'he-cat' it landed right at the back of his throat, swallowed whole; bones and all. Happy made an extraordinary fit of coughing and choking sounds before tears welled in his big black eyes. "Carla, you're so mean." he whimpered, as the white cat dusted her hands indifferently. "Wendy!" Happy cried, flying into a small pair of arms.

"Um...Happy." Wendy's gentle voice spoke to him. Happy's big watery eyes looked up at her with sorrow. "Um..." Wendy looked down awkwardly. Happy followed her gaze, stopping at the arms holding him. Wendy was on the wrong side of the arms. Happy squeaked, his gaze flattening on the other face above him. Soft silver eyes shimmered and glowed under the light. Happy yelped and dove up into the air and behind Erza.

"Erza! She tried to eat me!" Happy whined loudly.

"Oi!" Emi growled, her eyebrow twitching. "You were the one that ran into my arms!" she snapped.

"Eeeeek. It's a monster!" Happy wailed.

"Shut up, stupid cat!" Emi barked.

"Lucy you're so-" Happy went to snap before he realised his mistake. "...Lucy?" he repeated again to himself. Big eyes narrowed on the small, blue-haired girl. "You're not Lucy." he grumbled in an unsure growl.

"I'm Emi." The silver eyed girl introduced herself, moving closer, looking over Erza's shoulder. "I need your help to save Lucy." She asked gently.

"Lucy?" Happy whimpered. "Really?"

"Yup." Emi nodded. Happy wailed with a mix of joy and sadness as he thought about Lucy, flinging himself into the silver eyed girl's arms.

They waited a few minutes for Happy to calm down before bidding the guild goodbye. "Bring Lucy back!" They all called, wishing them luck.

"We will!" Emi called back, earning a cheer.

The selection of mages that came was: Erza, Gray, Happy, Carla and Wendy, which was whom she was aiming for. However, she also ended up bringing along three more; Levy, Gajeel and Lily. Emi couldn't be more secure. Though she wished there was another.

**...**

**EMI**

As they neared the docks, Emi diverted the group up to a large port boat, sailing a white and red flag.

She felt her feet slip into the hard concrete, coming to an abrupt halt. Silver eyes sharply fixed onto the figure hidden in the dark night shadows ahead of her. Pink hair rested over his face with his tilted his head to the floor. Dark eyes studied the sturdy wood dock, his lean body resting back on a knotting post. She supposed she didn't have to wish. Natsu stood right in front of them, by the boat. Emi couldn't believe her eyes or quite work out what to say. Gray took the opportunity to speak for her.

"Natsu?" he exclaimed in surprise, stepping forwards. "What are you doing here?"

Natsu glanced up, coming out of a world of trance. The slayer must have been lost in deep thought and didn't notice them coming. Raven eyes quickly ran over all them in turn before narrowing in on Gray. "You got a problem with it twinkle toes?" Natsu growled, stepping up to a challenge that hadn't been offered.

"What d'you say, match stick?" Gray retorted, standing closer with a scowl.

Two hard gauntlets crashed into the skulls of the pair. "Shut up and get on the boat." Erza growled. Natsu pulled on his backpack and nursed his head sorely like Gray. Obediently, the two sulked up the ramp, cowering on board.

When they reached the top, they both sent Erza a sharp scowl. She returned it hard, sending them rushing onto the deck.

"Natsu's ...coming?" Levy slurred in disbelief. Even Gajeel looked impressed.

"Thanks Emi." Wendy popped up beside her, giving her a cheerful smile.

"Little bunny girl definitely picked a few things up." Gajeel laughed, ruffling the top of Emi's hooded head before carrying on up the boat.

"You really are like Lu," Levy added, giving her a smile, and hurrying along to catch up to Gajeel and Lily.

"Let's go, Emi!" Happy yelled cheerfully, dragging the girl forward.

"Yeah!" Emi agreed, running up onto the boat with Wendy and Carla.

* * *

_Next: Chapter Four: Wish Me Happiness_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	4. Wish Me Happiness

Never Let Go  
Chapter Four: Wish Me Happiness

**EMI**

When Lucy said about dragon slayer's having motion sickness, she didn't quite think she realised how bad she meant. Gajeel sat calmly, looking sympathetically over his shoulder at the green and pink, limp body hanging off the bow of the boat. "Poor Natsu..." Wendy muttered.

"It's his own fault." Carla remarked.

"But I feel bad that I could only use Troia on Gajeel." Wendy sighed.

"That spell is great." Gajeel chuffed.

"I wish I could learn it..." Levy muttered under her breath.

Emi noticed a small smile tug at Gajeel's lips. A thin blue eyebrow was raised his way and when he caught sight of it, he quickly set his mouth into a straight line and turned away. There was a small trace of pink hidden in his manly face. Lucy's suspicions were right.

Erza turned up the gas lamp centred around them on a barrel. The group of nine sat around it, resting on small stools they found below deck.

Erza sat back a little, looking out into the pitch darkness of the sky beyond the boat. Travelling in summer meant the tides were settled most nights, including tonight. They'd set sail at a little past midnight and it had been three hours since then, leaving them sat under the glow of the half-crescent moon.

"I think we've relaxed long enough," Erza countered, glancing over at the outline of the half-dead dragon slayer. "I think it's time you tell us what we need to know." Erza's gaze shifted, focusing on Emi.

Emi's heart squeezed a little with dread. She wondered what would happen if she told them and she was scared of how they'd react. Their faces were all breached with different levels of strong concern. The soft silence of the empty deck began to turn heavy as she listened to the rattle of the mast. "I suppose you're right." Emi reluctantly admitted. Emi felt the air shift at the edge of the deck, turning quiet and tentative. Emi's eyes flickered over to Natsu. For some reason, she felt guilty for telling them, even though it wasn't her fault; she was just the messenger.

"My real name is Emile Saphireen Octova." Emi admitted, dropping back her hood, steeling her silver eyes.

"Octova?" Gray repeated, slow and absent-minded. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"The Octova family works closely with the government. They form the elite 'eight Octova generals' which head the 8 sections of the Fiore army. They're renowned throughout Earthland." Erza added.

"Wow. Great family you got there." Gray stupendously remarked.

"So you're like some kind of special lady?" Happy remarked, looking at her with scepticism. Emi ignored it.

"Yes." Emi replied simply.

"The family is quite large. Family members challenge the generals in order to try succeed their positions." Levy elaborated.

"What does Lucy have to do with this?" Gray asked.

"Lucy, she...married my uncle." Emi spoke hesitantly. The shock was pretty much evident on everyone's face. They couldn't quite believe it. Silence had entrapped them all.

Instead of looking at them, Emi found her eyes staring at Natsu. From what she could tell from his still back, Natsu wasn't showing expression. If he was shocked or surprised, Emi couldn't tell. Everything about him just remained still and unchanging. It was like he hadn't heard her, but she knew he had.

"Lucy? Lucy can't be married to your uncle." Gray finally spoke in disbelief. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Lucy?"

"Positive. My Uncle married Lucy in order to bring the Heartfilia name into the family. Having someone with such a high class association as Lucy, the family had to accept. It was a commendable achievement for my uncle and the family." Emi continued.

"Commendable achievement?" Gray growled back. "Lucy's not some kind of trophy!"

"In the world of high society, it's common for people to marry for the name of a wealthy and high-class family." Levy tried to calm Gray, though Emi could tell her heart wasn't in it. Inside, she was just as mad.

"But Lucy lost her wealth!" Happy cut in.

"What?" Emi exclaimed.

"Lucy isn't an aristocrat's daughter anymore. The Heartfilia business went bankrupt years ago." Carla explained.

"But she still had all of her inheritance when she married uncle? We visit the house and everything." Emi protested.

"Did she buy back the estate?" Wendy asked.

"No. Not while she was at Fairy Tail." Erza answered.

A debate started between them until Natsu finally stepped in. "Then what?" He growled, shutting them up and sealing the confusion. Emi gave Natsu a lengthy stare before she cautiously continued.

"Lucy married into the family and her inheritance became uncle's. His importance in the family rose -a very close second to the head." Emi said.

"Your uncle, how old is he?" Erza suspiciously asked.

"34. The second eldest." Emi answered.

"And his rank before he married Lucy?" Erza queried.

"The lowest of his five brothers." Emi answered again. Erza stared in thought for a long moment, mulling it over in her head.

"Something like that could cause an unpleasant rivalry." Gajeel spoke allowed, seeming to speak everyone's thoughts.

"Exactly." Emi confirmed. "Lucy was pulled into a political marriage to rise uncle's rank. He's going after the head for the Family Head position."

"If your uncle intends to do something he could very well wrap Lucy up in it." Gray voiced.

"That's exactly what he intends to do." Emi growled. "Using Lucy's influence, he's planning to kill the family head and take his position so he can control the family."

"Control the Octovas, control the army..." Gray uttered. Everyone fell silent, taking in the seriousness of what Emi was telling them.

"Lucy... She plans to stop him." Emi whispered, tears welling in her eyes. Natsu was the first to jump up, knocking the lamp a little.

"If Lucy tries to stop him she'll get herself killed!" Natsu shouted.

"I know, that's why you need to save her! Please you have to save her!" Emi couldn't hold it in any longer, tears came bursting out of her eyes, washing down her face. "You have to save Lucy." She sobbed.

Levy moved over to Emi and pulled her into her arms. Emi wrapped her arms around the script mage's small figure and let it all out. "Don't worry; well definitely get her back." Levy soothed, brushing the girl's blue hair softly.

After Emi calmed a little, as well as everyone else, Erza ordered them to bed; they'd be arriving at the dock in the late hours of the morning and she didn't want them to be tired. They all agreed and went below deck for bed.

**...**

**NATSU**

Natsu felt the breeze of the sea brush through his hair as he laid out on the bow of the ship. His dark onyx eyes made out a small person by the large steering wheel at the opposite; he wasn't very distracting so Natsu just ignored him. The rocking sickness from the boat in his stomach faded the deeper he slipped into thought.

"Thinking about Lucy?" A voice broke his thought trail. Natsu looked up, catching the sight of a dark haired and unsurprisingly topless ice mage staring down at him. Pink hair dropped back onto the wood with a small bang.

"Yeah." Natsu replied. He said it in a way that left no room for questioning or conversation. Gray ignored that. Tugging on a white jacket, Gray sat down beside him, leaning his back against the wooden rails.

"You knew, didn't you?" Gray's voice grumbled with a bitter coldness.

"No." Natsu replied.

"Like hell you didn't." Gray retorted. Natsu let out a long tiring sigh, pulling himself to sit. He raked a hand through his rumpled hair and adjusted his scarf before shuffling back beside Gray. Still, he avoided eye contact, looking distant and dazed.

"It's the truth. I didn't know about this whole scheme until last night." Natsu argued.

"But you knew about Lucy. The house, the fortune...the marriage." Gray accused. Natsu ran a hand across his face, and rubbed his temple.

"Yeah...I did." Natsu admitted. Gray's heart tensed at the pain that he carried in his voice. For the first time in a long while, Gray realized how defenceless Natsu really was.

"During those three months?" Gray pressed, leaving the bite out of it.

"I found her." Natsu replied casually.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gray asked, turning towards him.

"What difference would it have made? She didn't want to come home." Natsu uttered with an empty chuckle. "I suppose we know why now."

"You still should have told us." Gray growled. "We could have-"

"Helped?" Natsu cut in. "She told me she was getting married, Gray. She wasn't coming back."

Gray fell silent. It only just occurred to him that Natsu was the one, out of all of them, to hear everything come out of Lucy's mouth. And for the first time, Gray considered how much that must have hurt. Erza, Wendy, Happy, even himself would never hurt as much as Lucy hurt Natsu. Their bond was on a much deeper scale than friendship, one that was a lot more painful. That was why, when Natsu had come from those three months, he wasn't the same.

Gray let the silence still, moving a hand to give a supporting squeeze on Natsu's arm.

For a while, Gray kept him company, until he finally got up. "I'm gonna get some rest before we dock. You'd best get some too if youre going to keep up with me." Gray advised with light humour. Natsu nodded back with a grin, sending Gray under deck.

Onyx eyes looked up at the pale moon hovering above him. Night clouds slowly moved across it fading but not completely smothering its pale shine. Natsu's mind began to wander back to that day; the day he'd found her again.

**...**

_**NATSU**_

_Two years ago, in Crocus city centre the pink-haired dragon slayer buzzed on the streets. Hope drove him on the inside like an engine in a train. Natsu knew Lucy wouldn't leave without good reason. Her excuse about her being too weak to be with them was definitely a lie. Lucy was a good liar when she needed to be, but her eyes were always honest. Big brown orbs had shown him that day that she wasn't telling the truth. Still, she had shocked him when she left. That had given her enough time to get away. But when the dragon slayer came to his senses he realized he had to chase after her. He was willing the put his all into finding her._

_It was what brought him to the capital city. There were crowds and crowds of people fluttering by. It was almost impossible to find a single person in a sea of them. However, Natsu wouldn't give up hope and ploughed through them. _

_As the crowd began to thin out, Natsu felt relief in the open space. _

_Just as he did he heard the loud sounds of a fight in a nearby ally way. On instinct Natsu rounded the corner, ready for a fight. But it appeared there wasn't one. Well, not anymore._

_Several men laid unconscious on the cobblestone pavement. One person reigned supreme. Long blonde hair flowed down the back of her aqua blue dress. A long leather whip coiled in a pale hand, assessing the fallen. _

_"Lucy?" Natsu breathed. The girl flinched and whirled with air breaking speed. Big brown orbs widened as they locked onto him. "Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, overwhelming joy flooding into him. There was so much emotion bursting inside of him just seeing her face._

_Shock, distress and sadness exploded across her face. "Natsu?" she gasped, staggering back a few steps. She suddenly went very pale and her body swayed. A hand slammed against the wall to regain her balance. Deep heavy breaths rushed in and out her lungs. _

_"Lucy!" Natsu gasped, rushing forward with concern. Brown eyes snapped onto him before he could get two feet further with a wave of intensity that locked him in his place. _

_"What are you doing here?" Lucy cried, her voice on the brink of panic._

_"What?" Natsu blinked, taken back by her reaction. Wasn't it supposed to be the part where she gave him a hug of happiness and be reunited? "I came here to get you and to bring you home, Luce." Natsu muttered. Onyx eyes set on her with gentle innocence. She softened, just for a second, and then slipped back into controlled despair. _

_"You're not supposed to be here, Natsu!" She responded. "I told you already; I've left Fairy Tail." Lucy yelled at the boy. Growing senses of confusion was bringing up a frustrated anger inside of him._

_"You're lying Lucy! You love Fairy Tail, I know it. You want to come home! You want-" Natsu began to plea. _

_"What do you know about what I want?" Lucy hissed._

_"I know you want to come home." Natsu pushed. _

_"If I wanted to come home I would have ready!" Lucy bit back quicker and sharper. _

_Natsu had never seen her so angry before. Why was she so mad? Why wouldn't she listen to him? Why wouldn't she come home? There were so many questions pushing into the dragon slayer's head that his blood began to boil. _

_"Why did you leave?" Natsu shouted._

_"Because I'm too wea-" Lucy began to retort before Natsu cut in. _

_"Bull! Don't you dare say you're weak with people lying unconscious at your feet! Natsu bellowed. "So why-"_

_"FOR GOD'S SAKE, NATSU!" Lucy screamed. "I'M GETTING MARRIED!" A gasp escaped Lucy's lips as she realised what she said. Two hands clasped over her mouth as her eyes leapt back to the dragon slayer._

_Natsu went quiet. His expression was stunned, staring vacantly at the space she occupied. A coldness spread over his body, and all his thoughts seemed to fade. Somewhere inside of him, Natsu could hear the faint sounds of something as fragile as glass, cracking._

_"Married?" Natsu muttered._

_"Natsu, I-" Lucy tried to apologize, looking suddenly distraught. _

_"You're getting married?" Natsu asked, just in case he'd misheard. _

_Lucy almost reacted instantly, opening her mouth as if she was about to completely deny it. But she didn't. Features of shock settled back into her face, turning it to a gentle sadness. A small soft smile tugged on her lips, brown eyes dazed, looking into her thoughts. "Yes," she finally answered, with a small voice. _

_Natsu fell quiet. All the muscles in his body refused to move. Thoughts vanished as his mind came to a stop. Dark eyes blindly stared at her in disbelief. _

_Lucy...married? It had never occurred to him that something like that could happen. Lucy couldn't get married; it was too early. There were still tons of adventures for them to do together. _

_A sharp pain caught his chest. An aching burst cut through his frozen fog with icy precision. What was he talking about? Just because Lucy was getting married didn't mean he was going to lose her forever. There was plenty of married people at the guild. _

_"But why did you leave?" Natsu heard himself whimper, his eyes still unable to leave hers. Something was a little different in them than usual, but he couldn't figure out what it was. _

_"I- " Lucy stammered. It felt strange seeing Lucy lost for words. But everything felt surreal to the dragon slayer that day. The big blockade still prevented Natsu from getting past 'marriage'. Somehow Natsu had a feeling that the revolution on the other side would be painful. "I'm going to live here in the capital, so I can't." Lucy finally decided. _

_"But we can still visit, right?" Natsu muttered eagerly._

_"NO." Lucy snapped, shooting the dragon slayer down in surprise. A wince shot over the girl again, as she realised the sharpness of her voice. She didn't take it back. Brown assertive eyes hesitantly fell on the dragon slayer, staring just a little below his eyes. "Natsu, you must never come here again." Lucy demanded. _

_"Wha- do you just expect me to leave you here?" Natsu shouted back. Frustrated anger began to boil in his veins. _

_"Yes. I do." Lucy replied in that same calm voice that enraged the dragon slayer even more. _

_"WHY?" Natsu yelled. "Why are you leaving the guild? Why, when you love it so much?" Natsu felt the approaching anger sting his eyes with the daunting reality he pushed away slowly caving in. The barrier in his mind was being torn down. _

_"I already got the estate back. And I'm getting mar-" Lucy attempted. _

_"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!" Natsu roared, startling the blonde. Hot ragged breaths began to stagger out his lips. Balance rocked unstable. His head pounded when he found himself trying to cope and failing. It was like he could collapse any second. He could take a physical wound, but not one to the heart. "Lucy, why? Why do you want to leave me so bad?" he cried, black eyes ablaze with so much pain and distress. _

_Lucy staggered back a step in shock. Water welled in her eyes, threatening to fall. She brushed them away quickly, regaining her composure despite the aching pain that tore through her body. _

_"Na-" She couldn't bring herself to say his name. A shaky sigh fell from her shivering lips and she began again, trying to find her lost voice. "The memories of the years I spent with Fairy Tail, with the team, with you... I will treasure forever. But now it's time for me to raise my own family. That is my happiness. So, if you really wish me happiness, you'll let me go."_

_Lucy wanted to leave, to walk away, but it wasn't like before which felt like walking through stone; she couldn't move at all. In the end, she didn't have to. _

_Natsu stared at the girl, his body frozen. All his thoughts crashed down, leaving his mind empty and incapable of any rationality. A numb sensation spread over his body, and he fell into auto drive. Slowly, the dragon slayer staggered to stand straight and turned to the open alley. _

_Lucy watched, frozen, as he walked away from her. She wanted to reach out and stop him, but she couldn't. Not just for her, but for both of their sakes. _

_Just as the dragon slayer was about to move out into the crowded streets, he stopped. A hesitant head glanced over his shoulder. _

_A gasp almost escaped Lucy's mouth as she saw his eyes. His warm, friendly black eyes had turned blank with a heart-breaking coldness she never could have expected. He looked just like shattered glass. _

_He turned back to the streets, and did the only thing he could._

_He left. _

...

**NATSU**

Ice cold water burst across his face. Natsu awoke with a start, launching himself to his feet. Wide light-blue skies stretched out above him. Seagulls' calls swept with the whistle of the wind and tide. Metal rocked under his feet with gentle rhythmic movements.

The metal floor met his face as he crippled over with sickness. Morning, huh? Natsu must have fallen asleep after his trip down memory road.

Thinking back, Natsu never even asked the name of the groom. He'd been so shocked over the marriage, he didn't even think of the man Lucy was pledging her everything to. Or maybe it was more like he couldn't? Finding out his best friend was leaving him for another man, seemed a little too much to handle.

Despite previously haven chosen to let her go that day, he still found himself running after her. And although he wanted to be mad and angry with her, the truth was he never could. Regardless of the pain, forgetting Lucy was something he was never able to do. Sometimes, he admitted, the truth hurts.

"Good, you're awake." A sarcastic voice remarked dryly from the open doorway of the ship.

Natsu's weak eyes rolled around to the ice mage standing smugly in the doorway, looking calm and well rested. On the other hand, Natsu looked sleep deprived and rumpled. "Mornin' to you too twinkle toes, had a good dream about a prince rescuing you from your tower, princess?" Natsu laid it on thick with a sly grin.

"Ya' wanna go, hot stick?" Gray threatened, clashing heads with the pink haired boy.

"Ya' sure you're up to it, icicle?" Natsu retorted.

"Defin-" Gray went to return the favor before the cabin door swung open again.

"Natsu! Gray! You're both up!" Emi announced gleefully, coming bounding down the deck. "Look we're here; Crocus!" The girl announced, running to the ship's bow and pointing off ahead in the same general direction.

Natsu and Gray turned towards her and followed her line of sight. Small outlines of buildings appeared in the distance, getting bigger the faster they approached.

Gray moved up to besides Emi, sharing the amazing view.

Meanwhile, Natsu collapsed against the floor at the shake of the boat. At the same time, the rest of their group dispersed out the doorway. Naturally, they all bypassed Natsu, with only a sympathetic glance from Wendy. Gajeel looked smug, giving a wide grin as he purposely trampled over him.

Natsu didn't care; he was aching, he was grumpy and he was tried. All he could do was hope land came as soon as possible.

When the ship eventually docked, and Natsu was thrown off the boat by Gray and Gajeel, Emi bid goodbye to the ship workers.

Their search begins.

* * *

_Next: Chapter Five: Even Murder_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	5. Even Murder

Never Let Go  
Chapter Five: Even Murder

**EMI**

Crocus was as busy as ever. People buzzed around the streets going about their busy days. Their group stuck out like a sore thumb, even considering the random variety of people there. Despite it, no one bothered to pay it any attention anyway.

Somehow, they managed to stick together and find refuge in a nearby restaurant. Natsu and Happy curled up in a shaded booth, away from the hot sun rays that burnt through the glass windows. Erza, Gray, Emi, Wendy and Carla vacated the seats opposite whilst Gajeel and Lily pulled up three more chairs for them and Levy.

"So what are we going to do now we're here?" Gray asked, chilling everyone but Natsu's glasses of water. Natsu sent a tired scowl his way which just made Gray look even smugger. Emi glanced about the group from the cover of her hood. Despite the heat, she kept it up, just in case.

Erza took the first initiative. "We'll have to somehow get to Lucy," It was a pretty obvious statement but it kick started a wheel in the blue feline's mind.

Life burst through the cat, sending him flying to the top of the table. "I have a plan: As soon as it turns dark, Emi can convince Lucy to come outside. We'll lead her into a place with no people. Then we ambush her and put her in the carriage and take her home!" Happy suggested.

Dark suspicious glares hit the blue cat sharply. Naive big eyes looked around innocently. "It's great isn't it?" Happy grinned.

Just as someone went to say something, the clatter of a chair silenced them. Natsu leapt from his chair with dazzled black eyes. "Happy you're a genius!" Natsu exploded with awe. "This plan is perfect!"

Everyone stared dumbfounded at the pair discussing it seriously.

Gray eventually recovered his wits and stood. "Yeah, just one tiny problem." The ice mage growled, fists clenching at his side. "THAT'S KIDNAPPING!" Two knuckles crashed down on the idiot-pair's heads.

Happy cried, flying into Wendy's arms. "You're so mean, Gray!"

"It's because you guys are idiots." Gajeel intervened.

Natsu rebounded quickly, crashing heads with the ice mage. "You gotta better idea, ice princess?" The dragon slayer growled.

"Any idea's better than yours!" Gray bit back.

Emi watched the dispute continue with a strange sense of amusement. Those two could be a successful comedy act.

Something crept up in the corner of her eye; the shopkeeper slipped outside the side door. From the frequent glances she'd noticed since they came in, Emi had become suspicious. There was no certainty that she knew why the shopkeeper went out there, but she could give a pretty good guess.

"Was Crocus this well-guarded last time we were here?" Lily questioned genuinely, his gaze looking out the window. It caught Emi's ears and she instantly followed his line of sight.

Knights filtered through the crowd. There was one every five meters from the next. Lily was right; Crocus wasn't so well guarded. The amber cross crest was easily noticeable on their clothes; those guys weren't Crocus knights. And they were closing in fast. From the looks of it, they were already surrounding the building. Damn, they were faster than Emi thought.

Subtly, Erza leant towards Emi's chair. "Friends of yours?" The mage muttered, keeping her eyes on the squabbling pair. She wasn't paying them any attention, however. Faint signs of Erza's relaxed body showed she was on high alert, keeping her attention on everything.

"No. Not of yours either." The girl uttered back, covering it with a small giggle at Natsu's returning comeback.

Erza quickly split her glance to Emi for a split second, before returning to the guys. A sigh escaped her lips and she settled back into her seat. "Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, listen to me and don't look suspicious." Erza barely breathed. Natsu's gaze suddenly shifted. Gray caught it instantly. There was only the slightest hint of hesitation before he continued shouted a big list of insults. Yet, his keen eyes stayed on the dragon slayer with an unbreakable stare. Both Levy and Lily caught Gajeel's shift. And Carla caught Wendy's. Happy was the last to catch on, distracted by Wendy's calm and inconspicuous petting. "We're surrounded."

Faint signs of surprise caught each slayer; rigid shoulders, a subtle flinch, a flicker of emotion. Natsu made a negligible glance to the window. Gray, still yelling, glanced past him. The corner of his top lip shivered a bit. That was all the confirmation Natsu needed. "So?" The dragon slayer uttered almost soundlessly. "What do we do?"

Erza heard his words and Emi felt the slight pressure of her attention fan outwards. Trust Erza to have the same hearing strength as a dragon slayer. A small narrowing of the equip mage's eyes told everyone she'd locked onto something. "Don't worry; I've got a plan." she replied.

…

**OUTSIDE...**

The creak of the door was smothered by the restless ruckus of the customers. The shop keeper peered around the edge, conscious of the eyes bearing into his back. Several strong combat-ready men stood on guard ready to ambush the group of wizards harbored in the shop.

Except, they weren't there. Chaos of awe and shock fluttered over the group of customers, erupting into mass chatter. The shopkeeper stared dumbfounded at the vacant corner seats. One second they were there, the next thing, they weren't. There was no disturbance from the circled line of men closing in around the shop which meant they hadn't tried to break through their lines.

An overwhelming strength shoved the door and shop keeper aside, a large figure bursting through. He wore heavy armor on top of his huge muscle build with a long sword at his waist. An amber cross set in a bronze frame hung around his neck. Vibrant red hair warmed his lightly tanned skin. He was good looking, if only his expression didn't ruin it. He was angry...and he was an army general.

Suddenly he turned on the little shop keeper with blazing green eyes. "Where are they?" he demanded. The shopkeeper still found himself utterly confused at what was going on. It only frustrated the general more. "The ones who have Lady Emile! Where are they?"

Before the shopkeeper could attempt to find words, a loud shout from outside caught the general's attention. "THEY'RE ON THE ROOF!"

"WHAT?" The general burst.

**...**

**GRAY**

"Damn we've been spotted!" Gray hissed.

Rooftop after rooftop ran under their feet as they sprinted daringly over Crocus' tall chalk-grey buildings. Crowds swept around the cement blocks like tides washing against the cliffs. Attention flooded onto the fleeting group at the shocked calls of the guards.

One man burst out the restaurant's front door, scattering people backwards in an instant. Bright red hair rustled at the flick of his sharp, but fairly good-looking features. Even from far away, gem green eyes glowed with irritation. The stare burned into them with a hot intensity that made Gray certain they'd be seeing him again.

...

**EMI**

They ran until they were sure they weren't followed, and took refuge behind a small rooftop building in a more rural part of Crocus.

Everyone collapsed against the cool walls, soothing their aching and exhausted bodies. Welcomed early afternoon shadows stretched over the worn group with its cooling touch. Erza, who seemingly wasn't tired at all, quickly scouted the rest of the rooftop for anything suspicious.

"Who were they? Guards?" Gajeel growled with irritation weakened by a lack of energy.

Erza gave a quick glance to the panting iron dragon slayer before her gaze slipped over to the young electric-blue haired girl.

Emi's small silver eyes caught Erza's and instantly dropped to the ground. Guilt was written all over her face. Everyone slowly followed the red head's gaze and suspiciously landed on Emi.

"They're not guards." Erza said finally. "Not ones that work under the royal family anyway."

"Then who are they?" Natsu asked, sitting up from the cool floor.

"The Octova Army?" Gray guessed. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Emi flinch.

"The amber cross they wore, is the crest of the Octova family. All in the army are required to wear one as a sign of loyalty." Levy added.

"But what's the army got to do with us?" Happy questioned.

"They're looking for me." Emi sighed reluctantly. Stubborn as she was, Erza's gaze managed to make her cave.

"Why?" Wendy asked, concerned. "I mean I know you're an Octova, but isn't that family huge?"

"Wait," Carla interrupted. "You said your uncle was one of the five main sons. Doesn't that make you the daughter of one of the five?"

"My father," Emi looked down at her thumbs fiddling together. "...is the head of the Octova family."

"THE HEAD!" The men -except Lily- exclaimed in shock.

Erza disregarded them, obviously not surprised at all. "I guess your father didn't give you permission to go to Magnolia?"

"Actually, this is my first time leaving the Octova's main estate on my own." Emi muttered.

"WHAT?!" The male quartet reappeared.

"So why didn't they follow us?" Gajeel asked, settling back against the wall next to the script mage.

"They probably don't want to panic the citizens. If news got out that the daughter of the head of the Octova army was missing it would cause a problem for the family." Lily concluded. "Someone must have recognised her in the restaurant because of her Octova family heritage; blue hair and silver eyes is a common trait in the main Octova bloodline."

"They probably think we've kidnapped you!" Happy exclaimed, beginning to frantically fly in short circles. "We're going to be arrested, sent to prison. Or worst, we'll be killed. Or..." Happys voice fell into background noise as Erza sat down.

Ignoring Happy, the group crowded round while Erza went into thought. She closed her eyes, put her chin on her fist and thought hard about what to do.

"We're not going to give up on Lu, are we?" Levy muttered weakly. All eyes snapped on her with surprise. The expression on their faces fell into concern, as the possibility occurred to them.

At that moment, it should have been Natsu telling her off for saying something like that. He didn't.

As soon as she said it, Natsu's eyes were the first to lock onto her. A quick fire anger and shock caught them first. His mouth opened as if he was about to speak. Simultaneous explosions of pain and guilt and something else tore through his stare. Freezing shock paled his skin and his mouth slowly closed.

When the dragon slayer snapped back, his eyes turned cold and shut away. Levy heard the quiet sound of her heart cracking. At that moment, she was ready to cry.

In the end, it was Gajeel who scolded her. A huge paw of a hand weighed on her head, rustling her blue hair with unnecessary roughness. "Idiot!" He growled sternly. "Of course we'll bring Lucy back."

That was the first time Gajeel had called Lucy by her name, not bunny girl. Levy was surprised she noticed it. Her small eyes fell on his when she realised why. Dark iron eyes stared across at the pink-haired dragon slayer with the smallest hint of sympathy.

He wasn't the only one. As she looked around, she noticed everyone's eyes, even Erza's, had fallen onto Natsu with a heart-aching pity.

There was a long moment that weighed in the heavy atmosphere, seeming to drag on forever.

Finally, Erza cleared it. "We somehow need to get to Lucy without being too direct."

Everyone, relieved to move over what just happened, began to think.

Emi was the quickest to the trigger. "The ball!" She exclaimed. "There's the summer solstice ball in three days time."

"A ball!" Levy and Wendy impulsively exclaimed with glee. Gajeel found himself looking down, dreading at the prospect of dancing.

"But how would we get in?" Carla asked speculatively.

"The Crocus' Solstice ball is special!" Emi lit up with excitement. "It's a masquerade ball open to the public."

"I've heard of it before!" Levy jumped, dashing into her memory log. Lucy told her about it a few years back, but she thought it would be best to leave the Lucy bit out. "As long as you keep your mask on at all times and don't try to take anyone else's mask off, anything is acceptable, and all is forgiven the next day.

"Anything is acceptable?" Gray repeated. "Even murder?"

"You're right," Erza caught on. "If your uncle was going to kill the head, the masquerade would be the prime time to do so."

"If my uncle intends to use the ball, we have to stop him!" Emi exclaimed.

"We will." Erza responded with sudden authority. "We have three days to prepare. But first, we need a place to stay."

"I've got the perfect place!" Emi jumped to her feet.

**...**

**GRAY**

Summer dusk had come fast by the time they reached their place to stay. They had moved to the outskirts of the city where a few larger estates were established.

In front of them stood a fairly big, wooden building that slanted a little to the right. The sign on the front claimed it to be an 'Inn' but Gray was a little suspicious. On the other hand, Emi beamed with a joyous grin, hesitantly swinging open the door with a creak.

There were dark wooden floors covered in scratches and loose nails. An oak bar was stained with spilt liquid and large chunks from fights and rough care had been taken out of it. Tables with missing legs and fist holes stood with instability, accompanied by only ten chairs at most.

Finally, a tall, broad man with slim black glasses, brown-red hair that tied into a long, loose plait down his back, and dark green eyes stood examining a range of wine bottles. He wore simple clothes; a loose shirt, jeans, sandals, and a brown waist coat. His rough, unshaven face made him look older. Cleaned up, he wouldn't look anything over 35.

At first Gray didn't think he noticed their presence. But just as he went to take a step closer, he felt the undeniable gaze watching him. Except, the guy still looked absorbed in the labelled bottles.

Erza stood cautious and on-guard, watching him closely. Natsu and Happy, the oblivious pair they were, wandered in freely assessing everything with awe. "This place is so cool!" Natsu gawked, staring open eyes like a child.

"Damien!" Emi spontaneously called out, flying to the bar. The bartender looked straight at Emi showing clear signs of shock. Sharp eyes faded into a soft leaf green gaze.

"Emi? What the heck are you doing here?" He exclaimed, vaulting himself over the bar top with fluid ease. Both his scuffed black boots glided over the top of the wine bottles with sharp agility.

"I came to see you!" The little blue-haired girl innocently teased. He wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that you left the estate ALONE and gathered a suspicious group of wizards here, just to see ME?" The guy asked with obvious sarcasm, setting his glasses aside.

"Yup." Emi gave a cheeky smile. Green eyes stared long and hard at her, with a keen stare until finally she caved. "Fine. I didn't come here JUST to see you."

"That's what I thought." He sighed. "Right, sit here and tell me everything." He grabbed a stool and pulled it out. Then he picked up Emi and placed her on it without a word. "Call your friends over too."

After a lot of explaining, Damien Blake -the bartender- examined each of them in silence. "So," he finally said, back on the serving side of the bar. "You snuck out of the estate, stowaway on a boat to Magnolia, gathered these wizards from Fairy Tail, paid for a boat ride home to Crocus, got busted by the army, and came here. All to save Uncle's wife and stop him from killing the head." Damien recited. Emi nodded. "And now you're going to sneak into the Summer Solstice ball to apprehend him." Emi nodded again.

"ARE YOU STUPID?" Damien suddenly burst, startling everyone.

"NO." Emi snapped back by instinct.

"Emi," he stressed back. "The entire family is looking for you. What if you're found here? It's not just you who'll get punished you know!" Emi's silver eyes lit up with fury, sharpening onto the older man.

"I know that!" She wailed back. "But I want to save Lucy! Who's going to save her if we don't?"

"I've met Lady Lucy before, and she doesn't seem like the type who needs your help!" Damien returned. Emi's little face froze. Though her silver eyes burned with fury, small tears of frustration welled. Damien stopped, and kept his level stare on the girl, trying to see if she would give. Normally she would, but she made sure she didn't. Something stirred in her mind as she dug up all the threads she could use to pull him. She found one.

"I need your help." Emi spoke sternly, flattening her stare into Damien's dirt green eyes. "Help me, brother."

Damien stiffened, his green eyes focusing sharply on the little girl. "Damien Edward Christopher Octova, son of the twelve generation head, eldest sibling to the inherent heir, Lady Emile Sapphire Octova." Emi's voice lowered. "Help me."

Damien stared long and hard at the girl. Mixed emotions fell into turmoil under the surface of his eyes. "And if I don't?" He replied finally, his tone dipping down into cautious territory.

"Then I'll find someone else." Emi replied back quickly.

There was another long, aching silence that even Happy couldn't break.

Finally, Damien sighed, looking irritated and tired. "Fine. I don't want you running off to the wrong kinds of places looking for help. It's better to keep you where I can see you."

"Thank you, bro-" Emi jumped with glee.

"But I won't let you get into anything too dangerous. And stop calling me that. You know it's not allowed." Damien rose from his rickety stool, put the stray bottles of alcohol back under the counter and leapt over a vacant edge of the bar. Emi beamed with joy, her eyes glistening with love and admiration. "There's some spare rooms upstairs; I'll show you." A weary wooden door creaked open on the wall next to the bar, revealing a pair of steep aged steps.

…

**NATSU**

Natsu perched on the window ledge. One leg curled up to his chest, the other swinging off the edge. Warm summer breezes from the open window rustled his pink hair.

Gray and Gajeel slept sound asleep on two simple soldier beds, whilst Happy curled at the bottom of his. There wasn't much else in the room besides two bedside tables separating the gaps between the three beds. The window was on the opposite wall, with the door firmly shut for the night on the adjacent.

The girls were given a different room- per Damien's strict orders.

Natsu watched the dark skies twinkling with stars that faded into the glow of the upper town in the distance. His mind slowly began to reel back. He thought about the day Lucy left, and the misunderstandings he had then. He thought about when he'd chased after her, the day he came to Crocus. And then, he thought about the present, and the future to come.

Several questions arose in his mind; would she be happy to see everyone? Would she want to go home? Would she be happy or sad when they reunite?

Even though Lucy's marriage was revealed as a business deal, it didn't mean it wasn't all a sham. The smile on her face the day she talked about a family of her own was etched into Natsu's mind. Then again, Lucy made a convincing actress when she tried. Everything that was going on was giving him a headache. Why was she giving him every chance to save her, but shooting him down when he tried? Why did she say she loved the guild, but want to leave? Why does she want a new family when she already has one? Everything she was doing was contradicting what she was saying.

More questions came hard and sharp, slamming his mind into an unstoppable frenzy. His heart began to race up like a jack hammer, desperately trying to outrun the panic chasing after him. His breath came short and fast. Suddenly his grip on everything came loose. Pent up emotions were grabbing him by the throat, choking him of air.

Natsu lurched forward off the window ledge. His feet staggered and his body swayed. Dark rims around his vision began to cave in around him. His lungs burned for oxygen. 'His mind just kept screaming over and over. why? Why? WHY?

…

**GRAY**

Gray stirred in his sleep. Heavy breathing and loud feet caught his ears. Slowly the ice mage sat up, lingering between the dream world and reality.

In the darkness of the room, Gray managed to make out the pink-haired dragon slayer stumbling about. "Natsu, what the hell are you- Natsu?" Gray's eyes adjusted and he became suddenly conscious of the sharp sounds of someone gasping. He noticed the hand clutching to Natsu's chest, his wide eyes, and open mouth. And just seconds later, he saw the body of the dragon slayer collapse against the floor.

"NATSU!"

* * *

_Next: Chapter Six: Eat A Horse_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	6. Eat A Horse

Never Let Go  
Chapter Six: Eat A Horse

**GRAY **

"His body is exhausted." Wendy concluded, pulling her hands away from the dragon slayer. Emi moved forward and pulled the covers up to his chin. Pink hair spread over the white pillow with crooked spikes keeling over, as if they were too tired to stand up on their own. Cold sweat trickled down his expressionless face. He still looked pale. After they got him to bed, his breathing regulated and his heart rate steadied.

Everyone stood around him cautiously, waiting as if he was going to wake up at any moment. Natsu remained asleep, never stirring once.

Gray dropped onto his bed, raking his fingers through his hair. First signs of the breaking dawn crept through the window.

"It was a panic attack wasn't it?" Erza directed to Wendy. From the look on her face, Wendy didn't even need to reply. She knew she was right. But Wendy gave a small nod anyway. "I see." Erza's voice weakened a little bit. Dark eyes shifted their gaze out the window onto the pale skies cast with purple and blue.

"Two years of pent up emotions were going to hit him at some point." Gajeel voiced, leaning on the furthest wall beside Levy. Lily sat between her arms, slightly crushed by her strength.

"He didn't talk to anyone at all in the past two years, did he?" Emi muttered. Silver eyes absorbed the dragon slayer face, feeling twisted guilt at his sorrow buried inside.

"No," Happy said "...not even me,"

"Lucy was the person he always talked to," Gray spoke, his tone became soft and tender. "But then she left, taking a large part of Natsu's heart with her."

A weak silence fell out over the group.

Seconds later, a large crash from below sprung their attention. Immediately, Emi, Erza, Gray and Gajeel leapt to the door.

…

**ERZA**

Erza cast out a hand, catching the three other movers by surprise. They stopped, whipping their confused stares towards her.

"Shush!" She hissed. Gajeel and Wendy quickly sharpened their ears.

Several voices shouted from the beer hall. Chairs and tables being thrown over vibrated through the air. Two voices stood out in particular; one was Damien's, the other was hard to place but was able to strongly dissect itself from the background flurry of voices.

One careful step at a time, the group crept towards the open slice in the door.

Dark eyes peered out to see the beer hall in a mess. It was like a tornado had sucked everything up and spat it out again; chairs and tables laid sideways, missing more limbs that before, glass bottles glittered the floor in sparkling shards, red dripping liquor stained the old oak floors maroon.

A large man with broad shoulders, a strong build and bright red hair stood away from them, facing Damien on the other side of the bar. The man's elbows pointed outwards, his lathered hands squeezed into fists at his side. He faced the bartender with a rigid back, and from what could be interpreted, a stern, harsh expression.

The hidden group arrived late; the conversation was over and a crowd of men dressed in military wear showed their backs as they began to clear out of the room.

The large man took his steps almost reluctantly, taking a quick glance over his shoulder. "Save yourself some trouble Damien, and let us know if those wizards come by here. You're already an outcast, don't get yourself arrested for harboring criminals too." His voice was rough and tired from a long night. It also sounded a slight bit pained. Damien nodded, and the man finally left.

"You're lucky they didn't hear you." Damien spoke aloud from beyond the door. Everyone flinched in surprise at being caught red-handed. Erza, on the other hand, rose with confidence and drifted through the door.

"We were quiet enough," Erza shrugged, turning over a fallen stool and sitting on it.

"This time." Damien retorted sternly, cleaning up shards of glass scattered over the bar top.

Everyone else who got busted came out from behind the door and gathered around the bar. Gajeel and Lily picked up the last three stools for Wendy, Carla and Levy. The guys took the choice to stand since the other stools didn't seem stable enough- unless you could balance on one leg.

…

**GRAY**

"What did he mean by 'outcast'?" Erza cut the chase, holding a stone serious expression.

"It means what the word says; I have been banished from the inner city; more specifically the castle and any Octova properties." Damien replied casually, mopping up split wine.

"Why were you banished?" Gray asked, finding himself suspiciously curious.

"I abandoned my duties as an Octova and was chased out." Damien swapped the stained cloth for a new one.

Emi sat quietly aside, rubbing her thumbs anxiously together. "Thinking about it little-bunny girl called you 'Brother' earlier." Emi flinched a little, her eyes flickering to Damien. Dark green eyes were already set on her with an irritated and tired gaze.

Finally he sighed, putting the last red cloth into the bin. "I suppose you're smart enough to figure it out yourselves, but I can put it in words for you." Damien started with a dull, nonchalant tone. "My birth name is Damien Edward Christopher Octova, son of the twelve generation head, and Emi's older brother."

"So what's with the name change to Blake?" Gajeel questioned.

"It's my wife's name." Damien replied, his face relaxing a little.

"Your wife!" Levy gasped in surprise, involuntarily glancing at the iron dragon slayer behind her. A pink blush crept onto his cheeks as he struggled to avoid eye contact.

"I was ripped of my name and title as soon as I left the Octovas. I was in a mess but Rose found me. If it wasn't for her, I'd still be out on the streets." Damien recalled, a distant gaze in his eyes.

"Your title? You mean the first heir to the Octova head position?" Carla asked.

Damien, only slightly, flinched. A strike of pain cut across his face. "Yeah, I'm Emi's elder brother after all."

Emi remained quiet, twirling her thumbs, looking down softly.

The atmosphere became very delicate and heavy, one everyone was scared to break.

The door swung open, bouncing off the wall so quick, it was a surprise it didn't fly straight off its hinges. Everyone startled, almost falling back off their stools. The stiff atmosphere shattered instantly.

Crisp early morning light sliced through the door, wrapped the black silhouette in a blinding white light. "I'm home." A voice emanated from the darkness. A long brown boot stepped forward, pulling the black and white hem out of the light's blinding glare. Lace trailed up in curling strokes. White puffy sleeves bounced on her shoulders. Metallic lilac hair cupped around her face, spilling down in endless curls over her shoulders. Pure crystal blue eyes twinkled against her pale flawless skin.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at her beauty. When Damien finally replied, their awe turned into shock.

"Welcome back, Rose." Damien greeted, offering a subtle cool-guy smile.

"_That's _Rose?" Gray gaped, shooting eyes back and forth.

"The one and only." She laughed, moving through the doorway. The way she walked up to the bar looked royal and composed. Until she suddenly jump-stepped the foot-rest of Wendy's stool to perfectly somersault over to the other side. The shock kept piling on.

"Who's the wizards?" She asked, snatching a bottle from under the bar. Her small white hands struggled with the cork. Damien leaned over her shoulder, pulling it out with ease. Rose tipped the bottle to him and drank.

"They came with Emi," Damien sighed tiredly.

"Emi?" Rose slowly put down the bottle. Lilac eyes moved over each one of them with a stare that could burn through steel.

Once her eyes set on the little grey-eyed girl, they cut like a knife. Emi flinched, trying to find the courage to put a smile on her colorless face. "...H- H- Hey there, Rose." Emi put up a limp greeting hand.

Two seconds later a blur of black, white and purple tackled into the girl. Rose straddled the white-with-fear-girl on the floor. A slim hand-knife rolled back and forth over Rose's knuckles. "Now, now child. Don't think you're gonna get to keep that innocent face of yours after all the trouble you've caused me." Her voice rumbled menacingly.

"T- T- Trouble? What trouble?" Emi breathed weakly, her silver eyes widely open, staring at the purple haired-girl in fright.

"The entire estate is in uproar with you missing! They've been searching everywhere, suspecting anyone. Including me!" Rose growled. "Now, let's see how we can rearrange these little features of yours, shall we?"

"NOOOO!" Emi cried.

"Can't you stop her?" Wendy pleaded to Damien in horror.

"No can do. Once she's like that there's no stopping her." A flash of remembrance crossed his eyes, turning his face a dreaded pale color, remembering something painful.

Fortunately, Rose managed to calm down and release Emi fully intact. As she did, Damien explained the story so far.

As it turned out, Rose knew most of the things concerning Lucy.

"Lucy was always kind to me; she saved my neck when I almost got my head bitten off under your uncle's orders." Rose explained.

"You knew Lucy?" A familiar voice spoke from behind them. Everyone whipped around to see Natsu standing in the doorway at the bottom of the stairs. A shoulder leant against the door frame for support. His skin was still a weak pale colour with rings hanging under his eyes. Dark heavy eyes struggled to stay open, looking glazed under the fresh morning sun.

"Natsu!" Erza exclaimed.

"You shouldn't be out of bed just yet!" Wendy added, jumping down from the stool.

"I'm fine," Natsu grumbled back, pushing from the door frame.

As he let go his body swayed back and forth. A knee buckled weakly under his weight, sending him falling to the floor.

Everyone exploded from their seats in shock.

Gray flew forwards, catching the slayer under his arm.

"Oi, hothead, get a hold of yourself!" Gray ranted, the concern and surprise obvious in his voice. "Oi-"

A loud rumbling growl echoed through the guild. "So...hungry." Natsu whimpered.

Gray stiffened, his eyes frozen solid. His arm jerked back, dropping the boy on the floor. He went on to move back to his seat without a word.

"Natsu?" Happy flew to the lump on the floor, poking it curiously. "You okay?"

"You got quite the interesting kid, here." Rose mused, peering over the edge of the bar with Damien on her shoulder. "I do suppose you're all hungry right? Emi, come help me in the kitchen. We'll need to make a breakfast big enough for a banquet; that kid looks like he could eat a horse." Rose laughed, moving into another mystery door they hadn't noticed at all ever since they arrived.

"Eat a horse? We're not cooking horse meat are we?" Emi exclaimed in distress.

"It's only a saying, Emi. It means they can eat a lot. My, my, you're just as gullible as always." Rose sighed sarcastically.

Emi followed behind her with a pout and red cheeks of embarrassment.

…

**EMI**

It wasn't too long before the dragon slayer and the rest of the group had their faces full of delicious food.

"So, how do you know Lucy?" Happy mumbled, cleaning a pair of fish bones.

"I work as a servant in the Octova house, mostly as a kitchen assistant." Rose explained, watching Natsu engulf a whole roast pig with slight amusement. "Although, I have dabbled in being a search dog a few times for a small young lady that loves to get herself in trouble." A cold shiver stated down Emi's spine, making her have an abrupt loss of appetite.

"So is Lucy okay?" Emi asked, concerned. She hadn't heard anything more about Lucy since her runaway.

"As alright as any day, but she was definitely worried about you missing. She came straight into the kitchen just to ask me about you, which caused a ruckus." Rose groaned, thinking back bitterly.

"Why would going to see you cause a ruckus?" Gray asked, setting dawn his clean plate with a full stomach.

"The Octova are pretty strict about social class. For someone of Lucy's status, not just to acknowledge me, but to come and see me in person is quite the scandal. Especially since she's married to the first-in-line to the Octova head until Emi is of age." Rose elaborated.

Emi sat quietly in her chair, fiddling her two thumbs anxiously together guilt written all over her face. "Don't worry Emi!" A voice grumbled cheerfully besides her, muffled by a full mouth. Natsu's attention was focused on his food, shoveling mountains of meat into his cheeks happily.

Pink eyebrows pulled together, furring in the middle of his forehead as he slowed to a stop. Dark eyes fell on her with an innocent expression. All the food in his mouth was swallowed down, and he took a small sigh. His back rested into his chair with a belly stuffed with food and a satisfied smile. "Lucy isn't someone who cares about social-whatever. If she wants to be friends with someone she'll be friends with them, simple as that." Natsu gave a reassuring grin which calmed her uneasy heart so simply. Emi finally understood what Lucy loved that special skill so much. There was a way about the dragon slayer that managed to connect any heart without him even knowing it.

"You're so sly Natsu." Emi muttered under her breath.

"Huh?" Natsu blinked. "Did you say something?"

"Geez, Natsu." Emi groaned, crossing her arms. "I know that; Lucy's a great person! And it's okay because we're going to save Lucy anyway!" Emi declared.

"Right!" Everyone agreed, happily. Natsu nodded hesitantly afterwards.

…

**DAMIEN**

"That's a strange bunch of kids you've got yourself wrapped up with, Damien." Rose chuckled. Damien's hands folded over her shoulders, moving to stand behind her chair.

"You know me; I just can't help but get caught up in the excitement." Damien joked.

"Funny; I'm just like that." Rose replied.

"It's why we're perfect together." Damien agreed.

"Then we've got no choice, we'll have to help them." Rose rose from her chair. "A masquerade means costumes and luckily for you I know the best place to shop!"

A cheer erupted from the over-excited little group.

"I'll assist you," Erza stood, drawing back her chair. "The rest of you will remain here. We're wanted by the army for Emi's kidnapping. Fortunately, we managed to get out of the city without our faces being seen. If all of you go, you'll draw too much attention. So I'll go." Erza's decision, and explanation, was too solid for any of them to object.

Erza left later in the afternoon with Rose to go shopping, while the house-bound kids stayed at the inn.

**...**

**GRAY**

Gray, Gajeel and Damien found themselves resting out back where the warm evening breezes brushed through their hair. The sun crested the horizon of a field stretching out the back of the inn with a small picket fence and plot of land between them.

"That kid doesn't seem to remember having a panic attack." Damien pointed out, swallowing a mouthful of ale.

"That or he chose to pretend like it never happened." Gray added. "He's never been good at accepting weakness."

"Whether he's good at it or not doesn't matter." Gajeel countered, sprawled out on the back porch. "When it comes to bunny-girl, he's reckless."

"That's true." Gray agreed. "He's sticking his neck out without thinking as usual."

"Aren't you all doing the same?" Damien interrupted. Gajeel and Gray fell silent. "It's rare to see a group like you, who'd go to such length just for one person. Then again, I suppose she's not just a person to you guys."

"She's not." Gray muttered, the same thoughtful expression on both his and the iron dragon slayer's face.

...

**EMI**

Natsu sprawled out like a dead weight on a soft pile of barley. Happy held a piece in his hand, dangling it playfully over the dragon slayer's face. He used it to tickle the dragon slayer's nose, knowing he was too tired from eating to do anything but groan. Emi, Levy and Wendy were using the barley to weave wreaths with for fun. Carla and Lily sat nearby, watching over them while absorbing the warm evening sun.

The tall growing barley rustled in the breeze. They were a few months off the ripe time for harvesting, but provided a perfect cover for any passers-by to spot them and recognise them as the wanted wizards. The inn with the three that remained was just a few yards back from them.

"How did you learn to do these?" Wendy asked Levy, calmly threading another string of barely through her wreath.

"I found it in a book once and when I showed Lucy, she dragged me out to try it with her. We ended up making so many there was enough for everyone in the guild." Levy replied.

"That's so nice." Emi smiled. "Being able to have so many amazing memories like that with Lucy."

"I wouldn't call them amazing. They were really happy though." Levy smiled softly.

"I wasn't allowed out the inner gardens of the estate. I had never been in a field like this. I had never been on a boat. Never even seen my own city. Until a few days ago, I hadn't even seen past the iron gates of the estate that kept me locked in like a prisoner. People secretly called me the blue snake because I never smiled and was bitter to everyone." Emi muttered softly, caressing the rigid surface of her wreath.

"Emi..." Wendy muttered.

A blur of blue whipped through the air, knocking the girl down into the barley stalks. "Emi!" Happy wailed. Surprised, Emi gave him a gentle smile, patting his head.

"Don't worry Happy." Emi giggled, sitting up. "If it wasn't for being there, I wouldn't have met Lucy."

"How did you meet?" Lily asked curiously as Levy placed a small wreath over his head. It made him look rather adorable.

"It was after the wedding. I was being childish and refused to meet my Uncle and his new wife when they came to visit my father.

While they were supposed to be talking, I snuck out into the garden. There was a tree that was tall enough and close enough for me to be able to climb it and break out of the house.

Just as I managed to jump onto the wall, I noticed a strange group of men underneath it. Naturally, I hid.

They were talking of an attack on the house. To kill the head, his brother and his new wife." Emi recalled.

"You mean they was going to kill Lucy?" Wendy exclaimed, catching Natsu's partial attention.

"And then what happened?" Levy urged, squeezing Lily between her little arms.

"Unfortunately, just as I was about to jump back to the tree, my foot slipped and I landed on one of the men and they immediately went to capture me. I don't think they knew for sure who I was, but my clothes gave away my social status. They were going to use me as hostage since I looked pretty important.

Just as one of the men were going to grab me, he collapsed. He was knocked unconscious in an instant with only a small cut on his forehead.

Then suddenly, there was a woman standing in front of me. She said "No matter what, it is wrong to use force to attack a child." I was scared. There were so many of them but only one of her. Nevertheless, they kept coming and coming and she knocked them all down.

Reinforcements heard the noise and then there was even more of them. She sighed and pulled out a ring with several keys lined up along it.

I hadn't really learnt about magic back then, and didn't really know what she was. There was a strange cow, a pink sheep, two little blue people and a man who kept confessing to her." Emi chuckled.

"Definitely Loki." Levy grumbled. "It's been even longer since we last saw him -he left with Lucy."

"Yeah, all the other spirit too." Wendy added.

"Well, they are Lucy's spirits after all, it's a given that she would take them." Carla reminded them.

"So Lucy beat them all up?" Happy asked, returning to topic.

"Yup." Emi grinned. "As it turned out, Lucy didn't even know who I was. At the time I didn't either. She just told me to be safe and go home quickly and left. I wanted to thank her, but couldn't.

I climbed back over the wall and went back home where I was captured by our head butler, Sebastian, and forced to go meet Uncle's new wife.

I was surprised when I realized it was her. She was as well.

I hadn't had a chance to tell anyone what happened and even if I did, I would have gotten into trouble for going outside the walls.

Afterwards, I went to thank Lucy when Uncle and Father left to discuss something. She told me it was a secret that she knew magic and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. I promised not to tell.

But I was too curious and kept asking her questions about it; where she had learned it? How she learned it? Did she know anyone else with magic?

I was always so excited when Lucy came to talk to me that I never left the house, or attempted to.

People were so surprised about my sudden personality change that they ended up calling me the blue butterfly.

Lucy ended up with the nickname 'Honey flower' for drawing me out of my cocoon.

Everyone was taken by Lucy and really liked her.

After that I followed her everywhere for the past two years."

Emi sighed, falling back into the soft barely. Her jaw felt tired from so much chatting. Happy's soft purring drummed on her chest. The breeze rustled her hair, beginning to make her feel drowsy.

"That all sounds just like Luce." Natsu chuckled.

"Yup." Levy and Wendy agreed.

They chatted a little longer about the wreaths, the ball and such. It was so peaceful, Natsu fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Next time he opened his eyes, a knife was flying towards his face.

* * *

_Next: Chapter Seven: Lost Already_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	7. Lost Already

Never Let Go  
Chapter Seven: Lost Already

**GRAY **

Gray stood in the doorway of the inn, overlooking the back garden and the field. Gajeel and Damien had disappeared inside, and last traces of the sun were dissolving into a dilute navy sky.

It was calm, quiet and cool. Erza was due back soon with the costumes for the masquerade. Natsu and the rest were taking their time making their way back from the field.

It was a good idea for them to relax, considering it was going to be the last day to do so. The next day was the day of the masquerade ball. It was going to be filled with tactical plans and positioning to infiltrate the ball and get Lucy out of it, if they were to succeed.

The break was perfect, especially for Natsu. Knowing Erza, she would definitely use Natsu to talk to Lucy. Out of them all, Natsu knew Lucy the best. And although he had failed once before, it didn't mean he would again. If he failed once more, Gray was worried he wouldn't be able recover.

"Thinking too much is bad for your health." Gajeel grumbled, a pint of ale in his right hand, and an iron nail in the other. Gray gave him a glance over his shoulder and looked back out at the dying sun.

"I thought you had a thing for thinkers." Gray returned with a sly smile and raised eyebrow.

Gajeel gave him a long stare. "What do you mean?" He swallowed the nail and leaned against the opposite door frame next to Gray, bringing the ale to his lips.

"Well," Gray grinned. "Levy's definitely a thinker."

A spray of ale made a small rainbow momentarily in the air before Gajeel whirled on Gray with a face as red as a tomato. "W- What are you talking about?" Gajeel's stammering only made Gray's grin touch from ear to ear.

"Oh I think you know." Gray teased.

Gajeel growled in frustration. "I DO NO-"

The furious crackling of flames exploding in the distance cut them off in an instant.

"_Oh no..._" Gray uttered. They both burst out of their shock, dashing as fast as their feet could take them.

Straws of barley whipped at their skin, cry dirt pounding on the bottoms of their shoes, heavy smoke filling their lungs with every shallow breath.

Gajeel and Gray flew into the field, desperately searching for the group. Their vision was obstructed by the barley growing up taller than their heads, but above it a long stem of black smoke rose into the darkening sky. They were getting closer with Gray racing ahead. Something heavy weighed in his stomach making him feel sick with dread. Gray needed to prepare quick. As he ran, he managed to call back to the iron dragon slayer over his shoulder. "Gajeel, when we get there, I need you to get the girls back to Dami-"

Gray crashed against something hard and staggered, falling flat onto his back. "What the- Lily!" Gray exclaimed. He near stopped breathing as soon as he got a good look at him.

Lily was in his battle form; black smears of soot staining his fur, fresh wounds dripping red, bruises covering the skin underneath his black coat.

"What the hell happened?" Gray shouted, launching back up to his feet.

"Where's Levy?" Gajeel jumped.

"Don't worry, we're here." Levy's soft voice muttered as she, Wendy and Carla slipped out from behind Lily.

"Our Magic was useless." Wendy's voice was soft, but her eyes vigilant as she kept an eye out for any followers. Natsu must have told her to look after Levy since hers was lacking in combat ability.

Soot smears marked their torn clothes with a few small cuts and grazes, but overall they looked safe. But then Gray looked closer. 1, 2, 3... 4.. The numbers didn't add up

"Where's Emi?" Gray asked. Levy's eyes widened in surprise before she whipped around checking behind her, then panic surged her face.

"Wha- Sh- She was right behind me?" Levy stuttered, the color falling from her face.

"Dammit!" Gray growled. "Lily! What happened? Where's Natsu and Happy?"

"We were in the barley field when these knives flew at us from nowhere. A group of about twenty people in black attacked us. They were professionals, all our magic attacks where avoided easily. Natsu told me to get the girls out of there while he stayed back and fought." Lily explained. After a sharp set of coughing made him suddenly shrink back down. "Damn, I'm at my limit." Lily puffed.

"Gajeel get Lily and the girls back to the inn where its safe. Keep an eye out for any attackers that might have escaped and followed you." Gray commanded.

"Got it." Gajeel nodded, not question Gray's control. But he hesitated. "And you?"

"I'll go back to find Emi and meet up with Natsu, we'll rendezvous at the inn." Gray replied and disappeared into a sea of smoking gold grain.

Gajeel watched after him for moment before sweeping Levy into his arms, despite her protest, and charging back with the group to the inn.

The stench of smoke grew thicker as the ice mage homed in. Small raindrops of water began to trickle from the clouds, dripping onto Gray's skin.

A second later, Gray exploded the core of a black wasteland, flames surging into the air like a roaring ocean.

A group of men clad in black sprung aside to dodge the heat raging past their sides. Their body's pressed together in a corner, pressure tightening their expressions, trying to control the flickers of fear in their light-lit eyes. They were petrified- and with good reason...

Natsu was mad.

"You dare attack my friends!" Natsu roared leaping forward to strike. A fire-gloved fist landed hard against the faces of the perpetrators. They blew back against the charred barley, groaning in pain. But Natsu wasn't satisfied. Trains of fire coiled around his fist and he leapt into the sky. "Wings of the fire dragon!" Natsu yelled, whipping his chains of fire down upon the enemy. The men in black collapsed against the crisp field floor, unconscious and defeated. The fight was over. Except, Natsu's fists were still coated red with a ravenous anger still on his face.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted, darting into view. Natsu didn't look at him. "Natsu!" Gray shouted with more force. Finally, Natsu turned. Black eyes washed in a red film, lit by his irate flames, stared numbly at the ice mage. Gray felt his feet planted into the floor. He didn't recognize those eyes...he didn't recognize that person.

With slow, pain-staking time, they faded back to just black. Natsu looked around with calm, back in control. The dark anger, gone. Natsu's eyes narrowed on the empty space of burnt field. "Dammit, they got away." He growled, extinguishing his flames. Natsu stood in silence, staring at the aftermath of his destruction, a rumble of thunder overhead.

Rain began to trickle from the burnt orange sky. It was light at first, but turned heavy a second later. Natsu just stood there staring at his feet while Gray stared at him. The heavy rain felt like the weight of Natsu's emotions showering down on him in that moment. He looked so distant, so lost...so unreachable. The twisting feeling in Gray's stomach wouldn't let him watch any longer. "Natsu!" Gray yelled, over the storm, rushing at him. "Where's Emi?"

Natsu looked up. Damp pink hair plastered to the edges of his face, his dark wounded eyes disappearing behind a steeled shell. Dark eyes focused on him and his words. He gave Gray a shake of his head before looking up and around the sky.

"She went back with Lily and the girls." Natsu shouted over the crash of the rain with confusion. "Wait. Where's Happy?"

"I thought he was with you!" Gray roared.

"He was!"

"Then where the hell is he? We need to find Emi!"

"I know that! Happy was here a secon-"

A high pitch scream tore through the storm like a knife.

"Emi!" Gray and Natsu yelled, darting off in the direction it came from. They hit the barley at a sprint with Natsu taking the lead, his head up and breathing deep cold breaths of air through his nose.

"Where is she?" Gray called, coming up beside the dragon slayer. Natsu shook his head, wiping the layer of water off his face.

"The rain's too heavy; I can't smell anything!" Natsu shouted back.

"Emi! Happy!" Gray yelled, with Natsu jumping in. "Emi! Happy!"

Their hope began to dwindled as the crash of the rain drowned their hearing. They searched and searched, but nothing and no one appeared. Still, they ploughed and ploughed through the endless fields, refusing to give up just yet. They had to be there.

"This is useless; we'll lose them at this rate!" Gray yelled.

"No! We've got to find them. We can't lose them! Not again!" Natsu roared, knocking his speed up by another few notches.

Gray picked up his feet and matched Natsu's pace, but remained a couple of feet behind him. _'Again...'_ Gray repeated in his mind. _'Not again...'_

"Emi! Hap- Ah!" Natsu yelped, disappearing out of sight, forcing Gray to stumble into a halt.

"Na-" Gray yelled.

"Natsu!" A high-pitched cry overlapped him. Gray recognized the voice. His feet exploded from his place, running forwards towards the sound.

The weight of his feet grew light for a split second and then the ground was pulled from underneath him. His body came crashing down several feet onto a pile of hard soaked mud.

Gray choked, grasping for air into his lungs as he began to ease his body up.

"Gray!" The same voice exclaimed again. Dark eyes leapt behind him. Long blue hair fell in tangles over her dirt-caked clothes. Silver eyes filled with relief that brought tears to her eyes. A smile pulled her quivering lips, a blue fur ball laid curled asleep in her arms.

"Emi! Happy!" Gray exclaimed in relief. They sat underneath a small crevice, worn away by endless years of rain. Thin ground reached over their heads like a sheltering umbrella- the same umbrella both him and the dragon slayer had taken a dive off.

Gray seemed to have fallen into some kind of ditch. But where was Natsu? "Where's Natsu?" He asked.

A grumble of a reply came from underneath him. "Natsu!" he exclaimed, jumping up and seeing the flattened boy pressed face first into the mud.

He bounced up a second later, grabbing Gray by the collar. "Stupid Ice princess!" He roared pressing his dirt mask against Gray's. "Watch where you fall!"

"What was that, matchstick?" Gray bit back, grabbing Natsu's shirt in a mirrored grasp. "You should have moved outta the god damn way!"

"You-" Natsu growled, but stopped when his eyes fell on Happy and Emi. "What happened to Happy? Why is he asleep? Yo Happy! Wake up!" He called.

"We...we were...um..." Emi slurred, sending spikes of alarm through the ice mage. Emi's breathing was heavy, skin covered in cold sweat, pupils dilated.

"Emi, are you alri-" Gray began, reaching forwards. A second later, the girl suddenly keeled over. Natsu lurched forwards, catching them both in his arms

"Oi get a hold of yourself! Oi!" Natsu barked.

"Quick grab Happy. I'll get Emi. Let's get them back to the inn now!" Gray ordered, sweeping the girl into his arms. They leapt up, clearing the ditch walls with ease and hit the ground running.

...

**GRAY**

"Don't worry; it's a simple tranquilizer. They'll both wake up in twelve to fifteen hours." Damien informed, closing the door of the back room leading to the bedrooms, where they let the pair to rest. "Though with that little girl's help, they'll be awake in about ten." And by little girl, they meant Wendy who had rushed straight for them the moment the door had opened.

"Thank goodness!" Everyone sighed in relief. Natsu, the girls, and Lily gathered in the vacant bar along with Erza and Rose and several tons of shopping bags.

"I can't believe this happened while I was gone." Erza growled, tightening her fist with frustration.

"At least you didn't get caught in the city." Wendy tried to find an escape out of the heavy atmosphere but failed to do so.

"Yeah. Although the amount of guards has increased with the ball coming up." Erza replied bluntly.

The mages flinched at the sound of the second door leading to the back yard opened. Two drenched mages with long trench coats burst through. "There's no one there." Gray informed, pulling off his coat.

"What? We knocked most of those guys out!" Natsu yelled, launching from his seat.

"Figures." Damien muttered.

"What figures?" Gajeel grumbled, falling heavily into a chair besides Levy. He gave his hair a shake, letting the loose damp strands free to dry.

"Anyone left behind is a liability. The ones able to move must have taken them back with them." Damien explained, sipping from a glass of wine. Sighs and grunts of frustration grumbled under the surface of the air.

"Fortunately..." Damien continued catching everyone's eyes. "I managed to catch one."

"You caught one?" Natsu exclaimed, flying up out of his seat.

"Yeah." Damien nodded, brushing a relaxed hand through his hair.

"WHERE IS HE? I'LL GET HIM BACK FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE!" Natsu snapped, his fist lighting with anger. Something cold and dark rapped up Gray's spine and the same twisting feeling in his stomach tightened. Dark eyes switched on to the dragon slayer. Something about his cold calculated face made even Gray want to get out of the room as fast as possible. A second wave of hostility shot every hair on his arm straight up. He turned on his heels looking directly at Damien.

Green eyes sharpened like knives on the dragon slayer. His face was neutral and calm. But Gray felt like he couldn't even move. Natsu didn't notice, trapped in his dark shadow. "There's nothing he can tell us." Damien's cold neutral tone even cut into the dragon slayer's rage. Not even Natsu dared challenge him further. Natsu settled back into his chair. Dark eyes were still fixed on Damien but showed nothing more than directed frustration. If Damien noticed, he either didn't care or felt no threat. Either way, his coarse hands slid over a wine glass, brought it to his lips and drank from it, paying no attention to anyone. Silence settled around the room.

Eventually, Levy managed to free herself from the wrapping vines of tension to ask the inevitable. "So what did he tell you?"

Wendy shifted in her seat, wondering whether or not she wanted to know. It seemed she had no choice as Damien threw the answer at her so fast she barely caught it. "They're assassins under the general guard."

"Assassins?" Wendy choked. "So they really wanted to kill her!"

"No." Damien interrupted. "Had they wanted to kill her, they would have shot her with a poison dart, not a tranquilizer. I think their aim was to kidnap her. "

"Why?" Levy asked.

"He didn't know. It was an order from higher up. From what it seems, these guys were pretty low on the pecking order." Damien replied. "But that also means there's a lot more involved than capturing Emi for ransom."

"Could it be your uncle?" Wendy suggested.

"Maybe. He could have found out that Emi knew the truth about his plans. But, it would have been easier to just kill her if that was the case." Damien replied, spinning the red wine in his glass, staring at it with fake interest.

"I feel like we're missing something." Rose added, her face subtly strained with thought.

Damien lifted his glass to his lips again, sighed and put it down. Green eyes rose to the faces of the wizards. "What are you going to do?"

The wizards looked among themselves. Just as Natsu was about to launch out of his chair -_again-_ a voice cut in. "We go look for Lucy." Erza cut in. Her quiet has been unusual throughout the discussion, but when she rose from the table, her hands spread out against it, eyes falling directly on Damien, everybody listened. "We're going to that ball and getting Lucy back."

A long silence drew it out. It wasn't a heavy silence, but an electric energy rippled with anticipation through the room.

"Well then," Damien spoke. "We better get started."

...

**NATSU **

Explosions of color burst through the grand room, decorated in streamers, lights and feathers. Lively, feet-tapping music brought excitement over the flood sea of wildly dancing bodies. People glided in clusters of fantasy costumes with matching masks sealing their known identity away for one night, giving their walk that air of confidence.

Among them, there were wizards.

Natsu and Gray calmly worked through the sea of people with avoidance skills and quick reactions, dodging a woman being thrown into the air, caught and twirled. It was impossible to hear past the music, the pounding vibrations so strong that the earth seemed to shake.

Dry ice moved in, grey clouds of fog in rolling with the music booming through the sabers of colored light cutting through the air. Rather than a ball it was like a wild party of both chaos and extraordinary awe. It was almost impossible to hear anything anyone was saying, so they left it simply to the interpretation of their bodies.

Natsu pressed on a few feet ahead of Gray, but not far enough out of his sight to lose him; Erza had made it clear that she didn't want anyone breaking from their pairs. Why she had put him with Gray was anyone's guess.

When the music was cut off, people froze like it was a game of musical statues. Whispers rose form the crowd in a wave, and washed away just as fast. A spotlight clicked on, directing everyone's attention to the small balcony rising over the ocean of people.

A man with dark red head, threaded with silver stood looking down at the people with a wide grins, pulling aside his grey mustache and short beard. A hearty laugh came from his broad chest with a loud boom of laughter. He was well built and strong with a dark cloak over his shoulders, covering every inch of whatever it was he was wearing underneath.

"Welcome to the Summer Solstice Ball!" He cried. The crowd responded with an ear-bursting cheer. An anxious buzz vibrated across the crowd, awaiting for something to happen. "As our tradition stands, this will be the night of joy, excitement and mystery. There is only one rule: You must never take off another's mask by force. Other than that, my people, tonight is a night for your celebration at a place where the law can no longer reach you!" His hand clutched the shoulder of his cloak, and the intensity of the crowd flew upwards. "Let the party begin!" He cried, tearing his cloak free. The spotlight disappeared from the man, focusing on the falling black cloak. People cleared a space for it to fall, with every eye waiting for it to do so.

The second it hit the ground, music, lights and roars of excitement burst back through the crowd with an out bursting cheer. The party before, with loud music, colorful lights and wild dancing was really just the beginning. It could hardly compare to new level the ball had just shot up into.

Natsu looked up to the balcony but the man was long gone; probably having gone and integrated indifferently with the rest of the crowd.

Natsu struggled to find his orientation. The current of the crowd stole his ability to walk on his own. At one point he was thrust up and onto the hands of people pushing him over the top of the crowd in a wave.

When he was put down again, he could no longer see Gray, leaving himself stuck on the outskirts of the huge crowd where the people had dumped him. There were other circles of people escaping to flirt, chatter and kiss, out of the limelight of the thousands-strong rave club.

Natsu was surprised to see his white prince costume with the fluffy scarf, tight trousers and blazer, left intact. Even his white eye mask still firmly covered the skin around his eyes, somehow concealing his identity. Gray had dressed in a blue suit almost exactly the same as Natsu's. However, his matching prince clothing could not be seen. There were too many people for Natsu to smell anything other than sweat and a great deal of perfume and smoke.

"Lost already?" A voice appeared behind him. Natsu jerked around in surprise, both relieved and shocked to see Rose standing behind him.

She was dressed in a skin-tight shorts, knee-high brown boots and a cowboy hat dipping over her checker shirt. It was tied in a knot under her chest, revealing a bare stomach with a faint six pack of muscle underneath. Two guns sat in holders attached to her belt. Natsu eyed them with caution, wondering whether they were real or not.

Rose grabbed a handful of his white blazer and dragged him further away from the edges of the crowd. Her voice lowered and she was able to speak enough for him to decipher her voice from the rampaging crowd. "The person you just saw on the balcony is Emi's father. We don't know what he's dressed as -only his tailor and personal secretary knew. But I have no doubt that Lucy's husband knows as well. Make sure to keep an eye out for him in the crowd and for anything suspicious; we still haven't spotted Emi's uncle." Rose informed, looking past the dragon slayer and scouting the flood of people. His body tensed at those two words... _Lucy's husband,_ but he managed to force his body to relax before Rose caught on. He looked up and scanned over the crowd. How anyone could find anyone else in the monstrous crowd, amazed Natsu. "I'm off to go inform the rest." She announced, disappearing behind the slayer's back. He turned back on the crowd and any evidence of her was gone from sight.

In order to do what was needed to be done, the dragon slayer took a reluctant step towards the people and slipped back into the crowd.

…

**NATSU **

They had been partying for at least three hours and nothing had yet to show themselves. It was eleven-thirty and there was another half an hour until midnight. Thousands of people had left, but there were still hundreds of thousands still dancing. Hope of Lucy appearing dwindled as time went on. Any signs of Emi's uncle had yet to be found and hadn't even located him in the ball, not that it was any less of a challenge to identify people in a masked crowd. Natsu still hadn't managed to reunite with Gray.

Natsu had retreated to his perch only half an hour after arrival; the top stair leading to the balcony provided the perfect look out over the swarming crowds. There were still people scattered up and down the stairs but they were the minority. Dark eyes peered through the marble banister posts at the crowd moving in swarming waves. At first they appeared to be a group of individuals dancing to their own beat, however, after a longer inspection, it soon appeared they moved as one entity, like a wave rolling in and out over a white marble beach.

Tired but watchful eyes scanned the figures in the crowd for what seemed like the thousandth time, trying to locate the man he saw earlier, and their two other targets of interest.

He managed to spot someone, dressed in a sharp blue suit with a frilly tie, drawing the eye of scouting women. Gray moved through the crowd like a fish trying to swim upstream; moving unnaturally against the flow of bodies. For a small while, it actually amused Natsu; sitting there, watching him struggle.

The moment became a thorough joy when the ice mage caught his gaze. A glare shot up to the slayer sat protected, away from the crowd, bearing a broad smile on his face at his rival. In the end, Gray gave up with the silent eye arguing, moving onto his point of objective. His head jerked over to his four o'clock and Natsu followed.

It took him a while at first, trying to spot what Gray was indicating to, but when his eyes found it, he knew he was looking at the right thing.

A man, dressed in a dark black cape with a double side of velvet red hovered around a group of younger women dancing. White fangs were clearly stuck onto his teeth and fake blood dribbled down his chin; a vampire. Earlier on, the very same man had been stood on the balcony giving a royal speech to begin the unconventional festivities. Yet, there he was, a blood-sucking monster, flirting with women at least ten years younger than him -the pale cast of his skin gave him an eternal feel.

Natsu nodded in Gray's direction the second he realized, and the ice mage nodded back in confirmation. He still continued to sift through the crowd towards the man, in an attempt to stay close to him for protection.

A shoe caught Natsu in the rib, making him gasp with pain. "Hey!" He snapped, turning on the assailant.

Fabric decorated in sequels and beads was shoved into the dragon slayer's face as a woman came toppling down on top of him. "Well aren't you a cutie?" She squealed in delight, pressing her thick claws against his cheeks. She was dressed as something between a cat and a dog with folded ears and sharp claws and whiskers. The front of her mask laid crooked over her dark eyes, covered by a large piece of hair, fallen from the unkempt bun on top of her head. A red blush to her cheeks proved she had been drinking; that and her eccentric and flirtatious behavior.

"I'm so sorry!" Her friend exclaimed in embarrassment, managing to pick up the girl from straddling his chest. At first she stumbled and staggered until the girl propped the drunk onto her shoulder for support.

They dashed away before Natsu could even manage to recover enough to speak.

As Natsu turned, he caught a glint of something shiny in his eye and turned for just a second to find its cause. It took him that second too late to realize what it was.

Time seemed to slow as dark eyes followed the silver arrow's aim; straight into the back of the black cape of a vampire.

His voice was already yelling before his mind could even think to summon it.

But it was all too late.

The echoing snap of the bow string echoed in his ears.

"GRAY!" He shouted.

Screams burst from the crowd, dispelling the music and excitement of the crowd as the vampire man collapsed, an arrow stuck in his back.

Natsu whirled back onto the opposite corner of the room. Dark eyes just catching the assailant swinging his bow over his back before ducking into the nearest hallway.

He was down the hallway in less than a second, barging people out of his way with quails of protest as they flocked back to the main dance floor to see why the music had watched them race by with dull awareness, slumped against the wall waiting for their heads to stop spinning.

Quick glimpses of fabric darting around the corner was the only tether Natsu had to follow his prey. The attacker couldn't run as fast as the slayer and those little glimpses became their green caped back.

Natsu pushed himself to cover the gap between them, and with each step, he got that little bit closer. He came so close that his hand lurched for him, certain he could catch him.

Just as Natsu's fingers were grazing the silk fabric of the man's cape, he disappeared around a corner faster than Natsu could follow.

Natsu came to a halt at a T-junction, unable to land his eye on the assailant. He looked left and right, but couldn't find a single trace of their presence, all except for the green hat abandoned on the floor. They were gone. "Dammit!" Natsu snapped, his fist colliding into the nearest wall. It crumbled with paint chips falling into a pile on the floor.

Only the sound of the fluttering curtains filled the silent night, the wind having fallen still. Wait? Curtains? Natsu's body reacted quicker than his mind, driving him down the left corridor too fast for his brain to catch up. His feet rounded the corner, open air slamming into his face. He froze, eyes staring down the balcony in front of him.

Green fabric rippled in the string breeze, a half turned head glancing over his shoulder at the dragon slayer. Long strands of hair drifted in the breeze, its color masked by the darkness. Dark eyes, shielded by the shadow of moonlight, turned and look for a split second. They flinched in surprise, eyes running over the pursuer that chased him.

A second later, the surprise died into contempt, his feet pulling his body smoothly on to the balcony's edge. His second foot never came down on stone, but instead, on the empty air ahead of him.

"Wait!" Natsu bellowed, lunging forwards. Fingers clasped around their green cape, capturing the tether he had to the attacker. They turned, spinning to free themselves, a hidden knife slicing through the thread holding the cape to their neck, their hat falling free. Golden threads unraveled under the night light, the moon looking down on their faces, unveiling their disguise. The green torn green cape half-tore and Natsu's hand let go.

Both the green fabric and the assailant plunged into the darkness bellow, leaving Natsu frozen in shock.

"... Lucy?"

* * *

_Next: Chapter Eight: Arrest Him_

* * *

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**-A-ccentric**


	8. Arrest Him

Never Let Go  
Chapter Eight: Arrest Him

**NATSU **

Natsu looked down at his hands. Both hands clamped together, his knuckles turning white beneath the bandages before once again trying to pull them apart. His stiff muscles put up resistance but he eventually managed to free them of each other. Dark eyes glared at his hands, seeing them having remaining unchanged yet again. They trembled violently, unable to calm and steady themselves. They had not stopped since that moment, nor had the painful ache in his chest given him any rest. His body was aching somewhere or other, pleading for sleep in order to recover themselves. But the dragon slayer would not heed his body's cry. He was too afraid. If he were to sleep, or even close his eyes for longer than a second, that image would be brought back to his thoughts. Despite his resistance to the recollection, he could not avoid the revelation that had scarred him.

Lucy was the assailant.

Lucy had tried to kill the Octova head.

Lucy was almost a murderer.

Natsu took in a deep breath, settling back into the cushioned seat of the chair with a small shudder from his exhausted body. Pink hair cushioned the back of his head, dark eyes watching the ceiling with little interest.

…

**GRAY **

"Is he going to be okay?" Gray uttered, dark circles hanging under his own eyes. He recalled the moment he had found the dragon slayer, him, Gajeel and Rose having caught up to him. Gajeel had used his nose to track him down, though there was no scent left behind by the assailant. They found him on the balcony, his hand tightened into such a tight fist, his nails had drawn blood. At first they thought he was injured, Rose ran over to him to assess the injury, but stilled the second she looked up. She had taken several steps back before she realized it, looking to Gray and Gajeel with an overwhelming concern.

At that moment, Natsu was gone. His mind stuck in some kind of catatonic state that no amount of shouting or violence could bring him out of. All he could do was stare into the distance of the balcony.

Gray had managed to get through to him at some point, waking up from his cationic state, but not completely lost from his shock. He managed to tell Gray what happened, not in great detail, but enough for the shock to spread. Rose could only lead the forlorn guild members to where the others were, as they tried to find their foundations.

It had been several hours since then, each of the members along with Rose and Emi waited in a chamber somewhere in the grand mansion of the Octova house.

"I don't know if any of us is going to be alright..." Levy said. "I can't believe him. I know he wouldn't lie, but I just... I can't believe him..."

Gajeel wrapped his hand over hers, but said nothing.

"I believe him." Erza said, bringing surprise to their faces. Natsu remained in his own isolated world in the cushioned chair across from them, clasping and freeing his hands over and over again, as if trying to grasp something that wasn't there. "But that doesn't mean that's all there is to the truth. There is no doubt that Lucy had been the one to fire an arrow at the head. However, there is something that we don't know, some reason why Lucy had to do it."

"How do you know that?" Gray said. "Do we really still know who Lucy is? It's been two years; a lot can change in that amount of time." It was a surprise for the members to see Gray as the cynic. Gray was a realist, sure, but he had never outright doubted his friends. Even him and Lyon had seen differently at one point, and despite his actions, everyone knew Gray still cared for him like a brother. But somehow, that compassion was fading fast from the ice mage's face.

"Gray!" Emi exclaimed. Distraught with irate anger, she threw herself out of her chair. Both her and Happy who had been left behind at the Inn returned upon the news of what happened, leaving Lily to mind the building. "You may not have seen Lucy in these past two years, but I have! Lucy wouldn't try to kill my father!"

"How do you know that?" Gray returned. "Her kindness? Her stories? Lucy can be a good actress when she wants to."

"Gray!" Erza snapped. Her eyes turned on the ice mage, commanding him to shut up. He turned away with a bitter click of his tongue. Emi settled back into her seat besides Rose and the quiet Wendy, comforting both of the cats in silence. A heavy sigh came from the equip mage's lips, rubbing her tired eyes. "We're all tired, it's been a long day and I don't think we're all in the right mind set to process tonight's events. All we need is a good night's sle-"

"Lucy wouldn't kill." Natsu interrupted. Everyone looked at him with surprise. They hadn't thought he was following along with the conversation. His hands stilled by his side relaxed on his lap and as he continued, his eyes were so vacant, inspecting the high roof ceiling, they couldn't be sure he was following the same conversation. Yet his voice echoed through them all, despite sounding as if he was only thinking aloud. "Lucy wouldn't kill someone. Lucy is strong. She wouldn't kill." He took in a deep breath, glanced at his still hand above his face and looked back down at his guild mates. All doubt had faded from his eyes, left with just the solid belief he had in his old best friend. For the last two years, he had refused to talk about Lucy, too scared of the pain he would feel. Yet, after feeling, that pain he was so scared of before wasn't what he thought it would be. He was scared Lucy would change. Scared Lucy wouldn't be Lucy. Scared Lucy would want to know him. But he had come to face that change in a second and at that moment, he realised the one thing that hadn't change. Even after two years. "I believe in Luce." He said. "She's our Nakama after all." A wistful smile pulled on his lips, and the heavy atmosphere dissipated.

"You said it, Gray." Levy added. "She can be a good actress when she wants to be."

"You think she's acting?" Gajeel questioned.

"I think we're missing something." Levy argued. A second thought passed on her face, making her look slightly disheartened. "Though, it's not like we can ask her..."

"I suppose that gives us no choice." Gray grumbled, picking himself up from his seat. He crossed the distance of the small waiting room and threw himself down into the seat beside the dragon slayer. "We're just gonna have to go get her back and ask her ourselves."

Small relieved smiles lit up the silver linings on their clouded faces. Emi breathed a sigh, dropping her head on the shoulder of her sister-in-law who gave her a gentle head scrub. Happy flew from Levy's lap across the room, settling onto his best-friend's knees with a happy grin. Natsu gave him a smile back.

Just as their peace settled, the click of the door roused them all again.

Damien, his hat nowhere to be seen, materialized in the doorway looking utterly exhausted. The hair from his plait had come half loose, aiding his disheveled aura. Emi and Rose were up from their chairs in seconds, meeting him a few steps in from the doorway.

"How's father?" She asked, helping Rose sit him down in a nearby seat before his legs collapsed beneath him. He sank into the chair with a groan. The rest of the wizards sat on the edges of their seats in anticipation for news.

"They took the arrow out but it was poisoned." He said. Gasps cut short from their open months as Damien continued. "They have given him the antidote but the nature of the poison is fast spreading. They're not sure when he'll wake up."

Silence fell on the group, unsure of what to say or do.

"What do you mean 'when'?" Emi spoke, her voice soft and cautious. "A few hours, a few days? When?" She gradually became more frantic, eyes wide threatening to fill with tears. "Brother-"

"I told you not to call me that!" Damien snapped.

Emi flinched, pulling her hands away. Guilt raced across Damien's face before pain. He grabbed his little sister and pulling her towards him, his arms squeezed around her. "I'm so sorry, Emi. I didn't mean to shout. I just... I don't know when... _if_ he's going to wake up."

Tears gushed from the girl's eyes, her arms wrapping around her brothers shoulders in flood of wails. "Brother!" She cried, and Damien pulled her in tighter. Rose sat in the chair beside them both, and Damien freed one hand to wrap around her's. She squeezed it back.

...

**WENDY **

After a while, Emi had stopped crying, haven fallen asleep in Damien's arms. Rose had taken her from him when he was called away by his father's secretary.

Wendy sat in her chair, running her fingers softly through Carla's velvet fur. Natsu and Gray were in a disgruntled conversation about the solstice ball and following theories of conspiracy. Natsu was more than happy to use the two girls that had tripped onto him as co-conspirators with the intentions of distracting him. That lead Happy to bring up the topic of how Lucy had learned to shoot an arrow, accomplishing it with such accuracy and over a considerable distance. Erza and Gajeel were discussing what had happened to the head and what would happen in consequence.

Levy, kept apart from the two conversations, picked herself up and crossed the distance to the chair beside Wendy. Carla, yet to say anything to anyone, sat in silence on Wendy's lap, trying to process her thoughts with a great deal of concentration. Wendy didn't mind, she sat with her, complacent to the air slayer's grooming, which was more than comforting.

Wendy didn't discourage Levy to sit beside her and instead offered her a weak smile. Levy offered one in return, accompanied by a knowing gaze that told the dragon slayer she knew what she was thinking. Wendy, realizing it was pointless to hide her feelings, and took Levy's silent offer to confide in her.

"I wish I could have saved the head..." Wendy confessed.

"You did." Levy replied after a short pause. Her eyes scanned the room, not looking at anyone or thing with particular interest. "Had you not healed the wound from the arrow, he would have died because of it. You did save him."

Wendy didn't find much comfort in her friend's bragging, but as it turned out, Levy wasn't finished.

"But, I suppose we all feel useless too." Levy admitted just loud enough for Wendy to hear. A small pause passed in the iron dragon slayers conversation, his eyes flicking towards the script mage before moving them back and continuing on. Erza remained oblivious.

Wendy and Levy both took comfort in each other's hidden shame for a moment, no words being spoken.

When Damien returned, the group headed home. His father's secretary was fond of his master's eldest son but there were laws the others of the family's council would strictly abide by, and considering Damien's banishment, he sent them home. He also allowed Emi to go along for the night on the condition she be returned the next day.

...

**GRAY **

The inn was cold when they arrived back, and the guild members all headed to their rooms, too exhausted for any more discussion on anything. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

Morning came around and most of the members were up before ten, sitting out in the cool breeze on the porch. The sun, haven risen in the opposite direction, would not face them until sunset. Emi had returned to the Octova estate an hour earlier along with Rose who was assigned to look after the girl as a personal maid for the time being.

"So, what do we know?" Levy asked, sat beside the small dragon slayer in the warmth of the doorway. Gajeel sat opposite her, passing glances at the other guild members.

"We know my uncle wants my father dead in order to attain the head position. He used Lucy to do that. There was also the attempted kidnap on Emi." Damien said.

"Are you sure Emi's alright in that house?" Gray said, recalling Damien's reluctance to let her go back.

"It should be fine as long as Rose is with her." Damien said, his gaze downcast. "Besides, she wanted to look after father."

Gray felt a slight pang of guilt. It felt bad for him to pick at a tender spot in the man's emotions, knowing full well just how much he wanted to go there and look after his father himself. Nevertheless he had to say his concerns rather than keep them bottled.

"We still aren't sure who's behind the attempted kidnapping yet." Erza added, recalling a previous debate on the subject. It was strange for Emi to have been almost kidnapped when it would have been much simpler to kill her off. Damien had shown the doubt from the tranquilizer she and Happy had been shot with.

"Maybe someone just wanted to keep her out the way?" Levy suggested.

"Like for safe keeping?" Lily offered.

"That makes her sound like an object..." Happy briefly commented.

"So rather than attacking her, someone wanted to protect little bunny-girl?" Gajeel said.

"But why haven't they come back and tried again?" Carla asked.

"It's because they realized how strong we are!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Don't group me with you, matchstick!" Gray reputed.

"What'd ya say?" Natsu barked, clashing heads with the ice mage.

"What? Are you deaf as well?" Gray hissed. "All the more reason not to put me with your empty fire head."

Retorts flew back and forth and were diffused by Erza at the point of annoyance.

"It would make sense that someone wanted to keep her out the way." Levy mulled, moving over the interruption. "But that would have to be someone who knows what's going on."

"But only we, Emi, Rose and you guys know what's going on. The castle is in a frenzied about figuring out who tried to kill the head. The rest of the family is trying to keep control of the panic in the city. There has to be action before it spreads to the rest of the kingdom." Damien said.

"What kind of action?" Gajeel asked, a suspicious knot gnawing at the back of his head.

"Because Emi isn't of age yet, she can't be accepted as our father's replacement. Which means it'll be whoever next in line to act in her place until she's sixteen." Damien answered.

"You mean your uncle?" Lily inferred from the comfort of Levy's lap.

He was answered by a sullen downcast of the older man's eyes.

Gajeel clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring back into the house.

There was a moment of silence before Wendy resurfaced the original topic. "So who would be protecting Emi?"

"Someone in the house?" Erza suggested.

"The servants are too scared to defy my uncle like that, nor do they have the power to hire such a group. It would have to be someone close enough to know and have influence over that black operations team." Damien countered.

"Then what abo-"

"Lucy." Natsu said. Silence fell over the group on the porch, flashing their eyes towards him. Cog wheels began turning in their heads and it all began to seem so obvious.

"She took care of Emi, right?" Natsu continued. "She's a part of the Octova family now, so she has influence and they haven't tried again after we fought them."

"You think she left Emi in our protection?" Gray asked, voice still lost and bewildered at the train of thoughts.

"But she's working for the uncle?" Gajeel countered, turning back to the group before flicking his head back towards the house. His eyes narrowed down the hall leading to the door which separated them and the bar.

"That's true." Erza sighed. The conversation flow seemed to jerk to a halt. They knew Lucy worked for the uncle to the point of attempted assassination. Yet, there was something that didn't quite sit right.

"I trust Lucy." Natsu said, his cheeks holding a small smile. He turned to look out at the blue streaked sky. "I don't know why she did what she did, but she has a good reason for it. I'm sure."

"Natsu..." Erza uttered. Something during the aftermath of the ball, when he was lost in his thoughts, had clicked. That gaping hole anyone could see inside of him when he thought of Lucy was smaller. He was trusting her again. It was a simple degree of trust at the moment, not to the degree it was before, and yet, it was still somehow infallible.

"Either way," Levy grinned. "We've got to get her back, right?"

Everyone grinned, and with no signal given, their voices chorus with undoubtable determination towards their long lost friend. "Aye sir!"

Damien watched them with an unshakable gaze of bafflement. Their friend broke their hearts, and yet, even after all that time and everything they saw at the party, they trust her. Damien couldn't figure out whether it was a beautiful thing or stupid- maybe both. Nevertheless, he couldn't help his smile.

Gajeel leapt to his feet, a growl from the depth of his lungs, made the mage's gaze shoot towards him in surprise.

A sudden crash from the other side of the building shoved them all to their feet.

…

**ERZA**

"What was that?" Damien boomed.

Loud shouts of fierce voices came ricocheting through the house, the sound of wood being smashed to pieces, glass shattering, doors flying off hinges and the thunder of the feet. The wizards leapt from the doorway into the small yard. A second later, soldier after soldier came pouring from the doorway until they surrounded all the mages.

Uniforms adorned with an amber cross sat over their chests, their eyes glared forwards with calculating expression, each of their bodies toned with muscles trained through strict discipline and years of hard work. Their gazes were focused on the wizards, not letting one escape. Compared to the rest of the rookies in the city the other day, there was no slipping past these.

One man in particular stood out. Dazzling cropped red hair burned through the entrance of the open door, tanned skin exposed only on his face, hands covered with leather gloves for sword handling, his left rested upon the hilt of his weapon on his belt. It was longer than normal swords, and there was no doubt he would be able to handle the weapon with fluidity. Whoever he was, it was easy to tell he would be a pain to fight at a single glance.

Erza felt her blood jolt at the moment she recognised him as the man who had come into the bar and trashed the place before. That time they had only been given a warning. What did it mean now?

Natsu glared at him, giving a low, threatening growl through his clenched jaw. Something was up. Green eyes fell onto the brown haired barman, his black boots dropping onto the grass, and crossing straight for Damien. He stood a fair distance from his, a feint of a frown hanging on the corner of his lips. Erza caught a second growl and saw Gray bearing his eyes into another Octova soldier. His hair was red as well, with the same trademark green eyes; the one from the restraunte when they had first arrived in town. Erza turned back to the leader, as she identified him, the one from the bar, and stared hard into his face when he began to speak.

"Damien Edward Christopher Octova, you are under arrest for suspicion of treason to commit murder against the Octova Head." He announced.

What?

Silence fell.

Eyes watched the general in shock, unable to understand what was going on. The wizards stared, mouths agape, bodies frozen in place. What did he say?

"What?" Damien uttered through the crack in his heavy throat.

"Damien Edward Christopher Octova, You are under arrest for suspicion of treason to commit murder against the Octova Head. Anything you do or say may be held against you. You have the right to remain silence, and the right to a lawyer." He raised a hand over his shoulder to one of the men positioned behind him. "Arrest him."

The man behind him, Gray's prey, took a step forwards- one step too far.

"IRON FIST OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Fire burst forwards in an explosion of flames. No matter how well trained, how strong or agile they were, he couldn't dodge the attack. The man went flying through the house, the sound of crashing walls and shrieks of pain echoed into the far distance, all the way through to the other side of the bar. Gray looked satisfied, if not miffed at the intrusion.

A pink-haired figure stood between the red-haired man and Damien, a shadow covering his face. The knight never flinched when the flames brushed his shoulder, eyes calm and steady, moving down onto the dragon slayer.

…

**NATSU **

Anger boiled from his body in hot, rippling waves, fists clenched into stiff balls at his side, every muscle in his body ridged. The knight said nothing, looking down at the smaller boy in front of him with mild speculation.

"How dare you..." Natsu growled. "Do you really think he would kill his own father? Do you really think he could murder his dad?"

The knight paused in momentary thought. "Damien is charged with his attempted-murder. What I think is irrelevant."

"Ha." Natsu scoffed, his chin slowly rising, the shadow reclining from his face.

The guard watched his body grow taller, shoulders falling back, chest broadening. A hand lunged forwards, snatching the knight by the collar of his uniform and dragging him downwards. Natsu's face pressed against the red-haired man's. "I'll crush you."

Their eyes met, and the pink-haired boy he saw a few seconds ago, was no longer there. Instead, there was a beast.

A heavy ripple raced down his spine and the knight broke free of his hold, launching back by reflex in less than a second before he realised what he had done. He stared back at the boy, the pulse of fear he felt left his heart racing, but the beast was no longer there. Was he seeing things?

No. It was definitely there- just for a second.

"You..." The knight uttered, eyes locked on the dragon slayer.

A younger soldier beside the man moved up to his right, leaning close to his ear and moving his lips. The knight scowled, and straightened. The hand clamped around his sword loosened and his fingers pried away. He recomposed himself, eyes serious and sharp. The dragon slayer was dangerous, and he wasn't going to take any chances.

"Fairy Tail wizards; Gray Fullbuster, Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvell...Natsu Dragneel, and your three exceeds, Carla, Happy and Panther Lily. You are to be ceased by second Octova Regiment for the kidnapping of Emile Saphireen Octova and are to remain in the custody of the Octova's until your trail."

"What?" Natsu growled.

"Unc-" Damien moved forwards. The knight was gone in a flash, passing so fast the dragon slayer couldn't keep up with his movements. He turned a second in delay, just to catch Damien's body collapsing forwards.

"Damien!" Natsu yelled, catching his body.

"What just happened?" Gray exclaimed, jolting to the dragon slayer's side. Gajeel veered round the other, pulling Damien's body out of his fellow slayer's hands before Natsu's body caught fire.

"You." Natsu growled, dark eyes snapping onto the knight. His sword slid back into his sheet with a clink.

"I only used the back of my sword. Resisting arrest will only make his situation worse." The knight replied.

"I'm gonna ki-" Natsu growled.

The knight didn't wait for the slayer to finish. A gloved hand rose over his shoulder, an open palm catching his subordinates' vision.

"Natsu-" Erza lunged. The words 'wait' were lost at the clench of the man's hand. Shots echoed through the morning sky, and everything was enveloped in darkness.

* * *

_Next: Chapter Nine: She'll Come_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	9. She'll Come

Never Let Go  
Chapter Nine: She'll Come

**GRAY**

"...ray...gray...Gray!" A soft voice called. Dark eyes crept open, the claws of sleep slipping free from his unconscious, leaving him dreary and uncoordinated.

Blue hair swayed in the blur of his vision, the whisper of voices growing louder, a cool sensation curing the numb burn of his muscles.

"Wendy?" Gray uttered, eyes focusing on the face of the young dragon slayer above him.

"You're awake." She smiled, delighted. She removed her hands from above his chest while a secondary pair of hands assisted him to sit. Erza sat by his other side, looking concerned and assessing of his body.

"You alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, better now." He grumbled. "What happened?"

"We were all hit with a strong tranquillizer." Levy explained, coming into sight, sat in the corner of the two stone walls. Gray's eyes wandered around, noticing where they were exactly; a cell. "The effects were instantaneous."

He turned back to Levy and noticed the iron slayer by her side. He saw Lily on her lap, Carla next to Wendy and Happy beside Erza. With him, that made eight. There was two missing.

"Where's Natsu and Damien?" Gray asked.

"Damien's in the cell next to us. He's still unconscious so we haven't been able to talk to him yet." The cell had three stone walls, and one lined with bars and a locked gate. He wouldn't have been able to see him and confirm he was there from his position. The slayers must have smelt that he was there. Speaking of slayers...

"And Natsu?"

They fell silent for a moment, eyes chained to the stone floor. Dread coiled in the ice mage's gut, unable to draw his gaze away from the armour mage.

"Erza?"

Her gaze flickered for a moment, looking over his shoulder and through the iron bars. Gray hesitated.

"We don't know what happened after we were shot with the tranquillizers, so..." Erza mumbled.

Gray turned on his knees, and felt relieved that he wasn't standing up. He collapsed onto his hands, eyes landing on the sight of the cell across the pathway.

Iron wrought chains clutched to the slayer's limbs, limp wrists, falling backwards in an unnatural way, fingers cracked and bruised, knuckles slit. Blood covered his black and blue skin, his joints locked out of his shoulders and knees, feet crooked and bent, bones crushed under his skin, visible from the gouges of skin sliced through his snapped muscles, his face swelled almost to the point of no recognition.

"Wh..." Gray's hand slapped over his mouth, fighting the urge not to be vomit. Tears slid down over his skin, heart pounding steady fear into his veins. He felt sick and dizzy all at once, dragging him close to fainting. "What the hell happened to him?"

"We don't know." Erza answered, her voice a whisper under the thud of Gray's heart in his feet.

"We...we need to get to him." Gray answered, rising to his feet. He staggered, trying to steady his quivering leg beneath him. "We, need to- need to bust out and break him free and then, then we can heal him..."

"Gray, calm down." Erza stood up beside him. "We can't break out yet. The gates are infused with magic nullification. We can't break through the cell with magic."

"BUT WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HIM THERE!" Gray roared. Erza took a step back in surprise. Gray, too wired to care, looked back and forth around the cell. "We can just break out without magic!"

He crouched to his feet, eyes set on the gate.

"No. Gray, wait!" Erza lunged to catch him but the ice mage twisted out of her grip, pummelling himself straight at the metal fence. He collided and the force rippled through the gate, distorting it like a wave of water. For a second, he thought he had done it. The second ended and he realised how wrong he was.

"Crap." Gray hissed. The force slammed back against the ice mage, sending him flying backwards across the cell and crashing full throttle against the wall. Pain burst in hot flashes up his spine, collapsing into a pile on the floor.

"Idiot!" Erza hissed, racing across the ground to the ice mage. Gajeel was already helping him when she slipped around his other side. Wendy rushed over, activating her healing on his wounds.

"You shouldn't move yet; the tranquilizer isn't out of your system." Wendy warned.

"Running around like an idiot is his problem." Carla corrected.

"We can't be careless here. Not when we don't know the full picture." Lily added.

"We can't just...leave him... like that." Gray wheezed, revelling in the power of Wendy's magic easing the pain.

"We don't want to. We don't want to leave him like that either. So rather than beating ourselves up, we need to find a way out of this cell." Erza chided. Releasing Gray when he could stand up on his own.

"There must be some way to bust out of here without magic." Gajeel added, eyes accounting for the structure of the cell. His fists were bruises, covered with small scratches and burns. It seemed as though Gray wasn't the only one who had tried to force his way out.

"Is there anyone else in here?" Gray asked as Wendy pulled her hands away, her work done.

"I don't think so." Gajeel replied. "Though this magic nullification is kind of dulling our senses."

"That guy probably didn't keep people here for long- if they made it." Dark eyes flickered to Natsu's limp body, squeezing shut and turning back away again, unable to hold his gaze on the sight before him. "Dammit." Gray hissed. "Who was he?"

"My Uncle." A familiar voice echoed. They lunged to the wall, careful not to apply enough force for it to return the favour. A choke of air wheezed from the other side of the stone wall.

"Damien?" Gray called.

"Yeah," He huffed, the sound of clothes dragging. "I'm good." He was silent for a short while. "Though he's not." His voice sounded unemotional, despondent and deadly quiet. They knew he meant Natsu.

"What do you mean your Uncle? Not the one Lucy's-"

"No, not him." Damien cut him off. "My other uncle- Dante Octova. He was originally in position for second in line, where Lucy's husband is now. He was never ambitious like Lucy's husband. Dante was a massive support for my father, his right-hand man."

"Why did he do that?" Gray asked, his own voice temped and dull.

"I can only assume Natsu put up enough of a fight to draw his sword. He can be a little hard to handle." Gray heard Damien cough through the wall, most likely the effect of his earlier instant knock out by his 'Hard-to-handle' uncle. "He did it to put him out of action. And to this extent...it seems he must have made quite an impression on my uncle to think of him as such a threat."

"But he even accused you of murdering your own father. Why?" Erza intervened.

"I can only imagine my Uncle has taken the head position like we feared. Our family is built on respect. You don't question your superior's orders." Damien sighed. "Uncle Dante might have been a little lenient with us though."

"How so?" Gajeel bit, full of sarcasm.

"If Uncle Dante was serious, we'd be dead right now." Damien chuckled, Gray unable to find their current situation remotely funny. "Lucy's husband would soon have us dead before we could threaten his position."

"What about Emi?" Levy asked, trying to peer around the bars and failing.

"That's what I'm worried about." Damien growled.

"What do you mean? I thought she was safe in that house."

"She was -temporarily. I didn't think that he would get the position so fast."

"Let me guess, Emi's the last threat to his position?" Gray growled, already knowing the answer.

"The position my uncle has attained is only temporary- a safe keeping until Emi is sixteen. If he was to wait and she were to mysteriously die before her succession, it would be too suspicious. Better sooner rather than later." Damien explained.

"So he's just gonna have her killed in secret and frame someone else?" Gray suggested.

"It would have been better for him to have killed both Emi and my father at the same time- frame me for both, and use my banishment as a reason. But no, I don't think he'll do the same this time. Mysterious deaths are too suspicious and considering Natsu was the only one to see who had shot my father, doing it again would draw too much attention to himself. They would only believe him if they saw it with their own eyes."

"So what's he gonna do?" Gajeel asked.

A rasp cough cut through the air. The wizards launched to their feet.

"NATSU!" They wailed, flying at the bars. One, dark eye cracked half-open, locked straight onto the gazes of Wendy and Gajeel. His split lips moved ever so subtly that they would never have heard the whisper of his voice, or even know he had spoken, without the use of the dragon slayers. His eyes and mouth fell shut, lost back into his unconscious.

"Lucy?" Wendy repeated eyes widening.

"They're gonna use Lucy." Gajeel's mouth uttered, knowing exactly what the slayer was saying. He looked shocked and confused.

Damien went deathly quiet.

"What do they mean they're going to use Lucy?" Gray barked. "Damien answer me!"

Damien was hesitant to speak, his voice low and quiet as the puzzle clicked together. "That's why he had me arrested!" He boomed, the sound of bars rattling as he threw himself to his feet.

"Damien!" Gray snapped with impatience. "Explain."

"There's no threat to me to take my Uncle's position- I was banished, I have no right to claim for succession. But Emi can. He knows that I would protect Emi. He arrested all of us to keep us out of the way."

"But what does that have to do with Lucy?"

"I told you, mysterious deaths are too suspicious. Not everyone would believe it wasn't him without seeing it with their own eyes. It's all a case of misdirection."

"Get to the point, Damien!"

"Lucy is now the Leading Lady to the head of the Octova Family, she would be expected to show up at every ceremony by his side. If she wasn't there for some reason, it would draw attention. And if Emi was to be killed, then people would rather suspect Lady Lucy, not my uncle. My Uncle has already consolidated his power. Lucy is expendable."

They all went quiet, the cog wheels stopping at the product of thoughts. The uncle -Lucy's _husband _\- was going to use Lucy as the scape goat for Emi's murder.

"But...how are they going to hide her? Surely, they can't get away with locking her up somewhere, she would have to..." Gray's voice faded, eyes travelling back to the dragon slayer.

"Gray?" Erza stepped forwards following his line of sight. "Oh no..."

"What?" Wendy shuffled closer to them, her voice insecure, unsure whether she really wanted to know or not.

"The reason they did that to Natsu...to draw Lucy out." Erza answered, her face falling against the bars.

"I don't...I don't understand." Wendy whimpered, her heart sinking in her chest.

Damien's voice appeared again. "There will be parade in a few days to exploit the change of succession to calm the people after the ball." He paused for a moment, a soft sigh breaking through his lips. "If she thinks Natsu's life is in danger, she'll come to save him. They'll kill Emi and blame Lucy for her absence during the ceremony. They know the truth about her. They'll say it was revenge for her former guild mates. She'll be charged with treason and executed before anyone can save her..."

It all felt hopeless. They had fallen right into the Uncle's hands, trapped deep down in a cell they couldn't escape from, completely powerless. They couldn't help Lucy, and could only hope she would somehow escape. The odds seemed unlikely. Wendy felt herself on the verge of tears, despair grasping at her throat. "But what if she doesn't come?"

"If she loves him...she'll come." Damien whispered.

For the first time ever, Wendy found herself wishing that Lucy had really never loved him at all.

...

**TEAM NATSU**

Night drew in and out, and in and out again but Natsu never stirred. The only sign of life they had was the slight quiver of his chest, rising and falling with every painful breath.

Erza leaned back against the stone walls, her hair in a matted mess on her shoulders. Her brain was tearing through her mind, testing any thought that might be able to come up with some way to get them out of the cell.

She groaned, stretching her legs out beneath her, and rolling the cranks out of her back.

Gray laid still on the floor beside the edge of the cell, staying as close to the unconscious dragon slayer as he could. She gave him a weak curve of her lips, and look around the unchanged cell.

Happy laid in the comfort of Wendy's arms, and her little blue head laid in the slack lap of the script mage, her fingers running through the girl's long blue hair. Gajeel shifted and Levy adjusted her head on his shoulder, wrapping her other arms a little bit tighter around Lily to comfort him. Her own dazed eyes surfaced from deep thought to give the equip wizard an acknowledging glance.

Erza returned it and leaned against the bars. Faint tapping on the bars ran from the fingers in the next cell, rattling on the metal in rhythmic pulses. They had been continuing non-stop since they had all fallen silent, wondering whether or not she would come.

A sigh cut off midway from her lips. Footsteps burst through the silence like a drum, launching everyone from their sleep. Eyes snapped onto the swallowing dark corridor. Throughout their whole imprisonment, not one single person had come, not even for food or water.

The footsteps drew closer, cranking up the tension in the air with every boot falling on the ground.

"Is it...?" Wendy's voice barely whispered.

Erza felt her heart sink, her blood turning cold in her veins. Please, Erza's mind pleaded, don't be her, don't be Lucy. She couldn't fight the part of her mind, the part of her that knew that no prayer to god would ever stop Lucy.

Dark boots melded from the darkness, long legs clad in cloth and armor, a cloak sweeping the damp, moss-covered floor. Relief swarmed the wizards as a figure too tall and broad to be Lucy appeared from the shadows. The sensation was cut in two by the irregular long sword glinting in the moonlight.

"YOU!" Gray roared, slamming his body against the cast iron bars.

"Uncle Dante?" Damien's voice reappeared with question and confusion.

Dante Octova paused beside his nephew's jail cell for a moment, staring down at him with an even gaze before continuing onward, gravitating away from the wizard's cells to the opposite side. Gray's fists tightened around the bars as he watched him approach Natsu's cage.

"Get away from him!" Gray hissed.

Just as Gray thought Dante was going to ignore him, the man spoke, reaching behind his back, underneath his cloak to his belt. "He did most of this to himself, you know." He said, apathetic. "The boy tried to go into his full Dragon Force form, a power I can see he has no control of yet. He almost went rampant had I not managed to... put him out of commission."

Gray stared hard at the back of the man, working to get something from out of his belt. The ice mage stood on the border of disbelief; somehow, he couldn't manage to relieve Dante of the blame he had set on him, yet found it easy to believe what he was telling him. Two years down the line and the power was still too strong for Natsu to handle. Fire was a much more potent and unpredictable power than any of their slayer allies.

Dante managed to free whatever it was out of his belt and revealed a small bottle in his leather-gloved hands. He secured the material of his cloak over his face before he reached into it and stepped closer to the bars. The small stick he picked out of the bottle was held between his thumbs and forefinger. It snapped with the yelp of both the iron dragon slayer and Natsu.

"Gajeel!" Levy squealed, reaching for the iron dragon slayer. Gajeel pulled the girl against him, burying his face into the side of her neck. Crimson painted the girl's face, too stiff and flustered to move or do anything against him.

"Dammit, that hurts!" Natsu snapped, struggling against his chains. "Ow, ow, ow, ow. It burns. Make it stop."

Dante returned the two fragments of the stick into the jar and sealed the lid before replacing it on his belt. The other wizards and non-wizard alike stared dumbfounded at the reaction.

"What was that?" Natsu whimpered. "That was nasty."

"A small part of a Sol de Luna plant." Dante explained. "The smell can hurt a dragon slayer's sense of smell. Though I see your young air dragon slayer is quite sharp. Moving the smell in the air currents was a smart move."

Wendy blushed at the compliment, before giving a mental slap reminding her he was the enemy.

"Why are you here, Uncle?" Damien broke through the dragon-slayer-101 lesson.

The older Octova cast a remorseful glance at his nephew before turning to face the fire wizard instead.

"I have a debt that needs repaying." He said. His hand reached behind him once again, a jangle following after. His hand returned with a ring of brass keys hanging from the iron ring.

"You're letting me out?" Natsu lunged forwards in his cuffs.

"Not for the reasons you could ever conjure up in that brain of yours."

"Hey!"

Dante ignored him, fitting the key into the lock with no hesitation. It seemed he had no doubts about whatever resolved him to go against his original actions. With a flick of his wrist, the lock clicked open, and the door swung with a wrenching creak. Two seconds later, the cuffs were off and Natsu was free.

His first steps of freedom were short-lived as he collapsed to his knees in a hiss of pain.

"Natsu!" Erza yelled. Her body pressed against the bars in an attempt to reach him.

"I'm alright." Natsu groaned, using the bars to help lift his body back to his feet.

"Like hell you are." Gray snapped. Natsu gave him a dismissing wave, only aggravating the ice mage further.

"Sorry, Gray." Natsu chuckled, braving his hands against his knees, crouching a tad lower to the ground. "I gotta go."

"Slayer." Dante called out, causing Natsu to pause. "It would be wise that you _do not_ underestimate my brother."

Natsu gave one last look to the Octova brother before moving on with his path, saying nothing in return.

"Na-" Gray jumped to finish his argument but before he could, Natsu's feet were flying into the darkness, stumbling at full speed, keeping his body as steady as he could, running as fast as possible. Nothing would get in his way.

He was gone.

Gray stood on the other end of the bars, staring with eyes burning into the now empty darkness. "That idiot!" He roared, throwing his body into an engaging pace around the small cell, arms flying in fits of frustration. "If he just waited until we were out of our cells, we could have helped him! Wendy could have healed him!" Sarcasm took over his tone. "But _no._ Natsu had to go be a hero and ran off without thinking like usual. What good can he do when he's half dead? Whatever. I'm done with him." Gray gave a heavy sigh, turning back to the Octova who held to Gray, a flat stare. "Can you let us out now?"

"No."

"Good. I wanna get out of here as soon as- Wait. What did you say?"

"You are all still under arrest for Emile's kidnapping and," He paused, keeping his eyes away from the adjacent cell. "suspicion of treason and murder against the Octova Head."

"Then why did you let _him_ out?" Gray asked in disgruntled growl laced with disbelief.

"He has someone he needs to go see." Dante turned, attaching his keys back to his belt. He and his black boots moved towards the darkness.

Gray gave a smug sigh, before a thought popped into his head. "How do you know so much about dragon slayers anyway?"

A sly grin tugged one side of his mouth up, revealing the small point of a sharp canine. Gray's mouth fell open.

"You-"

Dante cut him off. "_She_ will be here soon. I hope you have enough to cover the damages." With his only and final message to Damien, Dante Octova's red hair bled into the darkness.

"I don't believe it." Gray uttered, staring into the dark with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"What is it, Gray?" Wendy moved forwards.

"Don't ask." Gray sulked, pressing his head against the bars, sinking to his knees in defeat.

"Who's this _'She'_?" Erza inquired through the bars to their neighboring cell.

"Duck." Damien's voice groaned.

"A duck?" Levy repeated in doubt of her hearing.

"No. I mean... DUCK!"

Explosion of concrete burst through the back walls of the cells. Metal and fire flying in every direction. The wizards pinned to the ground as the tremors shook the entire fortified building. Cracks raced across the floor beneath them, and for a moment, there was silence.

The floor caved.

The wizards were gone.

* * *

_Chapter Ten: One Chance_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	10. One Chance

Never Let Go  
Chapter Ten: One Chance

**NATSU**

Natsu fought against the aches of his muscles, the pull of his yearning lungs to stop, the quake of his bones that could only just take the impact of his legs crashing against the stone floor. His breath was hard, certain he had broken one of his many ribs. It hurt like hell but it wasn't enough to slow him down.

The sound of an explosion made him stumble in his run, but he continued, leaving the prison far behind as he raced forwards across the decrepit bridge crossing onto the main land. The prison, on the scape of a rocky shore with the bridge as the only way out, was more frightening that he had first thought.

His body jerked down, his foot breaking through a board. He watched as the wood fell into the canyon thousands of miles below. He ignored the shiver of fear, pulling himself up and pressing forwards with a slight more caution than before.

Safely across, he began to hear the faint sounds of the festival parading through the town, bright lights burning around the city buildings in an Aurora of colour. The brightness burned into his eyes as he grew closer and closer. His nose was on full power, trying to locate her through the swamp of scents and failing. So he tried his ear, to fish through the layer and layers of voices, but yet again found his hopelessness growing like an infection.

Where was she? Frustration sent in and he found his aching muscles silencing with the burst of adrenalin. If time served him right, the procession should have only just begun. Meaning her chance to come for them had already started. So why wasn't she here? He was still traveling the lone path to the island, and yet he had seen no sign of her. It would have been impossible to approach by boat, the rapids too dangerous to sail or get anywhere close enough to jump. Even Gray would have trouble trying to freeze it; before he would have chance to use his magic he would have been doused in another wave and dragged under.

A whistle made him leap to the air, using every bit of energy to dodge. He tumbled and crashed, rolling across the ground, layering himself in several more bruises before coming to a stop. Whatever adrenalin he had was in short supply and his muscles snapped into tight bands, making moving the slightest bit excruciating. Warmth fell down his cheek, and his hand forced itself to his face, shaking and quivering, feeling the wet dampness of red between his fingers. A knife thin cut sliced across the bruised, stabbed skin of his face. Gasps for air from running hit him hard, hardly managing to catch his breath as he rose to sit, bleary eyes looking around him.

Shadows moved around him, darting in and out of the bursts of city light. Their faint shuffling feet encircled him, dancing to a dangerous song. He noticed the arrow sitting out from the ground, a trickle of his blood, sliding down the blade buried deep in the surface of granite rock.

Dark eyes glared at the swarm, pulling each and every tight muscle to move his body as he rose to face them. He was weak. He was too weak to fight them all. Then again, when has that ever stopped him?

"BREATH OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu roared, bright, burning flames spewing from his mouth in a tornado of fire. Black figures scattered like flies in every direction, avoiding the flame. Natsu spun, the fire spreading like a Catherine wheel firework as the group scattered and dodged and regrouped again. They were nimble and as tough to kill as cockroaches, but Natsu wasn't deterred. He couldn't waste time on these people. There was someone he needed to meet.

"Wings of the-" Natsu felt his mind slow, the breadth of his arms widening their wing span, fire in tight whips from his fists, ready to defeat his attackers. But he didn't. The man with the black mask stood right in front of him. He couldn't move in time. Fingers jabbed his body left right and center, the magic flowing through his veins, gushing out through his body in a matter of seconds. Then nothing. Natsu stared in confusion, his hands absent of flames.

He tried to conjure them back, but his magic was bone dry. It was all... gone?

The men took his confusion as an opportunity to grab him, overwhelming him with force and numbers, submitting the boy to his knees against his roars and struggles.

"Magic is not permitted to convicts. Even the ones accused of crimes they didn't commit." A voice approached from the shadows.

"What did you do to me?" Natsu demanded.

"A show of good will, shall we say?" He was as tall in the darkness, looming over Natsu's downed body like a sky tall tower.

"Like this is good will!"

"Oh, but it is." The figure took one step forwards. White teeth flashing in the light, catching the glimpse of a smirk. "I could have ripped your head from your body instead." Light swallowed the man. Sharp features cut across his square, scarred face. Big, broad shoulders holding gun-muscle arms on a torso, clung with a pitch black shirt that couldn't find enough room to hide even an inch of the rock-hard muscle beneath it. Thousands of tattoos ran up across his muscles, down under his dark jeans and up towards his neck, stopping just before the dark goatee brushing the tips of his red -so dark it was almost black- hair falling in front of his menacing face.

"What do you want with me?" Natsu growled.

He looked surprised with an amused quirk of his lips. "Surely the first question one would ask is who are you? Then again, I suppose it is custom to introduce yourself first. Very well then, my name is Enrique Octova."

"Again with you Octova's." Natsu growled. "I'm trying to save your family, your eldest brother and our continent so will you just stop getting in my way."

His smile only broadened, the delight in his eyes glowed with hunger. "Quite the contrary, dragon slayer." Natsu's face turned upwards, eyes narrowing. Enrique met his eyes, watching him as an equal. His smile twitched wider. "You actually happen to be getting in the way of my plans."

"I don't care about your plans." Natsu struggled. "Now. Let. Me. Go."

"I think my plans may concern you more than you realize."

"They don't." He hissed.

Enrique gave a petty sigh, turning to pace with a slight spring in his step. He pivoted in front of the dragon slayer and stopped again, bringing his hands out and to the front of him, playing with his fingers.

"There is a connection between us, you know." He said. "You and I share a close friend."

"Yeah?" Natsu, tired and patronized by the man, laced his voice with sarcasm. "And who might that be."

"My wife."

"Why would I know your wi-" Natsu stopped. The pieces clicked with the wrenching sound of a knife stabbing into his chest. Ice cold realization hit him, eyes blaring and burning with anger as they shot to the man.

The look of the dragon slayer's face must have been gold to him; his pupils widened like a swallowing dark pool in murky green eyes, his smile pulling the wrinkles of his cheek back towards his ears. His face was happy, but his eyes said otherwise; they were screaming threat. He felt threatened by Natsu, and with the dragon slayer at his mercy, a man like that was dangerous.

He came close to Natsu face, knowing he can't touch him, knowing that he can't summon his magic, and knocking that hurt the slayer more than anything physical could have. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, Natsu Dragneel." He spat. "The man my wife always talked about in secret, the wizard my niece went running after, the hero that will apparently stop me." He tutted, shaking his head. "What silly naive girls, they're too old to believe in fairy tales now."

Spit struck the man's cheek, a snarl following after. "Don't you dare speak about them like that!" Natsu warned.

He stood straight, pulling a tissue from his pocket, wiping the saliva from his cheek. "You know what? I'm a fair man-"

"Before or after you had your brother shot in the back?" Natsu bit.

"You mean by your girlfriend?" He retorted.

"She's not my girlfriend." Natsu uttered, his eyes chaining to the ground for a split second of weakness.

"You're right." He smiled again, the obvious look of victory on his face. "She's my wife." He relished in the pain he saw flutter behind the cold dragon slayer's mask. "And I am a fair man -betrayal aside- so I will give you one chance to save her."

Natsu lunged. "What did you do to her?" He roared, tearing one arm free only to have it pinned again before he could reach the man. Even if he was bigger and broader than him, Natsu still stood a high chance of defeating him without magic.

He smiled back in reply. He lifted up the white tissue, holding it in front of his face. "Catch her if you can." The tissue fell past his eyes, blocking his vision for a second. The tissue fell to the floor and Natsu was released and they were nowhere to be found.

Neither was Natsu.

...

**EMI**

"I can't believe you tried to blow us up!" Gray yelled.

"Aha, well..." Rose chuckled.

"I warned you about her." Damien gave him a sympathetic smile, running up beside him.

"When?!"

"It's not like we could leave you in there anyway." Emi sighed, fastened around Damien's shoulders, carrying her with ease. "There was a limited choice of methods to get you out of that max prison you got yourselves into. You can't be picky."

"We got arrested because of you!"

"Aha, well..."

"You two don't feel guilty at all, do you?" Gray begged the question and their only reply was mischievous grins. He should have known. He turned to Damien. "I will consider you, from now on, to have a bad choice in women."

Damien offered him a tired shrug in response.

"This isn't the time for quips at each other." Erza intervened, slowing her pace slightly to match the others. "Gajeel?"

"Were getting closer. It's faint but I got his scent and it's getting stronger."

"Good. We need to catch up and soon. You alright, Wendy?"

"I'm fine." Her long hair fell over her face, tired circles under her eyes with skin a paler than healthy shade. As soon as the anti-magic barrier was broken, she had healed everyone, even against their requests not to. Erza really had to wonder what happened to her to make her so stubborn. Well, being at Fairy Tail for too long would probably do that to you.

"By the way," Gray turned to Emi. "Aren't you supposed to be at your estate?"

"Things change pretty fast when your wizard friends and brother get arrested." Emi shrugged.

"So you do care?" Gray teased.

Emi blushed a beat red, averting her small eyes to the whirls of Damien's head, much to Gray's mock amusement. "Let's just leave it at the fact that I'm not one to sit tight." Emi flashed a smile, before her face turned solemn. "Besides, you're right. It was my fault I got you into that mess."

"Emi-" Damien went to console her.

"Yep." Levy interrupted, much to everyone's surprise. "You had to come to the guild, and get us all involved in this big mess, where we're risking our lives and getting hurt every two minutes despite only being here for a week."

"Levy?" Gajeel tried to speak, but Levy cut him off.

"But." She caught the girl's disheartened expression. "This is nothing. Absolutely nothing, compared to getting Lucy back." Levy smiled, and Emi's guilt faltered, unable to do anything else but smile back at her.

"Aye sir." Happy smiled too.

"But what about your Uncle's assassination plan?" Gray moved closer to Damien.

"Considering Emi's here, there's little he can do to her right? He probably realised she was missing a while ago." Damien replied.

"So what's gonna happen to Lucy now?"

"I'm not sure."

Levy interrupted. "Lucy was supposed to be framed for you being killed; If she's not there..."

Emi recalled what Damien told them once they helped them escape the prison. It made her more than furious to know what her Uncle was planning, especially after what he had done to her father. She would let hell on Earth before she let him get away with everything.

"I'm more concerned over what Dante was talking about." Erza interrupted, her dark eyes turning in thought.

"You mean the dragon slayer thing?" Gray asked.

"No." Erza shook her head. "Not that."

"Oh." Gray nodded. "The whole 'I have a debt that needs repaying' thing, right?"

"Yes, that." Erza mulled. "What debt was he talking about?" She turned to the Octova siblings. They shrugged and so did Rose.

"Well, he said something about Natsu needing to see someone?" Gajeel rose up on their heels.

"But isn't he working for your Uncle, Lucy's husband?" Levy asked.

"Dante is famous for his dedication to the head of the family. With the head having changed... I just assumed..." Damien replied.

"Well, I doubt we'd get to the bottom of it so soon. We just need to-"

"What's that over there?" Gray asked, the group's eyes darting towards the distance. Happy flew overhead, reaching the scene before the rest of them.

He held up a white piece of tissue abandoned in the deserted road.

"Why's this here?" Happy wandered aloud.

"It's a piece of tissue in the middle of the road, what's the big deal?" Emi shrugged, climbing off of Damien's shoulders as he let her down.

"Wait, pass that here." Damien moved forwards, taking the tissue as the cat offered it to him. He took it in his hands and unfolded it until it spread full across his palm. In the corner, orange embroidery spun two letters on the edge, an amber cross in between.

"E. O?" Gray read in the gap of silence between the three capital natives.

"Guessing that last one's Octova. There sure are a lot of you." Gajeel remarked.

"It's not just any Octova." Damien muttered, the dread leathered in his voice.

Levy crept forwards, wondering if she really dared to ask. "... Which one?"

"Enrique Octova." Emi replied, her own voice shallow and cold. She looked up and faced the wizards. "My uncle...and Lucy's husband."

The group fell silent, each one suffering an internal slap in the face, stunned, bewildered and worried at just a name.

"Oi." Gajeel interrupted. "Look."

If one name was painful, on image of excruciating. Pitch black burn scared littered the road in blazing boils of where heat and fire had once blundered through.

"You don't think he's got Natsu?" Happy exclaimed in distress. "Natsu!" He cried wings flourishing as he took to the air, before being snatched out his pursuit, his tail clenched between Erza's claws.

"Gajeel, Wendy?" Erza's turned to the dragon slayer council.

"If there was a fight, there wasn't much of a struggle. There's not enough destroyed if someone tried to grab him." Gajeel said, surveying the many dark scars, knowing there was little in comparison to the Natsu he knew.

"Should I try Milky way?" Wendy asked.

"Milky way? But how?" Emi stepped up to the slightly older dragon slayer. "Luck told me you can only use it to contact spirits -that you used it on a dragon?"

Wendy smiled. "Did you know we constantly pass memories into everything, whether it's alive or not. We infuse just a little of our soul into it. Like a doll you might have a child and filled it with love, but you give a tiny spec of your soul instead." she explained, lowering herself to her knees, taking the handkerchief and setting it down on the floor in front of her. "I figured Milky Way could be used for reading the memories in those little pieces of soul too."

"That's...AMAZING!" Emi squealed, overloading in awe as the bashful Wendy began her spell, Rose pulling Emi out of the way.

She took in a deep breath, letting her eyes fall closed and her consciousness gather. Blue light burst from beneath her in rings and words and shapes, forming a beautiful azure magic circle. Winds swirled around her in a cocooning tornado as it swept across the ground, each nook and crevice excavated by her thoughts.

"There!" Wendy snapped. The wind circling around a spot on the ground, small amounts of blood scraped along the floor, ground disturbed by a struggle, only a few inches away from where they had found the abandoned tissue.

A range of emotions splashed across her face as the wind merged and took form of colour. Dark shadows circling the translucent winds of the dragon slayer's pink hair. The blazing winds mimicked the fire, lost of their heat, but full of the aggression from not long ago. The sudden attack, jabbing the slayer and destroying the wind. They pinned him to the ground, a man appearing from the shadows. The winds wobbled and tried to hold tight to his appearance but couldn't quiet grasp any solid piece of soul to recreate his memory, he was a shroud cloud, one not even the Octova's couldn't recognise. Then the whole memory collapsed, the ghost of the tissue falling and fading into the earth as the wind released. The magic circle disappeared under the air dragon slayer, the spell over.

Wendy slumped forwards, falling to the Earth. Gajeel and Gray were there in a heartbeat, lifting her up and over their shoulders.

"I knew you shouldn't have done that spell! Carla scolded, flying up to the girl's face with a concerned scowl.

"I'm fine." She breathed.

"Say that one more time, a cat really will have your tongue." Carla threatened. Wendy's lips twitched a little, bowing her head as she fell silent. Although Wendy had grown a little over the years, her height almost as tall as Erza's shoulder, her stamina hadn't progressed as much as she would have liked. She resigned from the cat, grateful to Gray and Gajeel helping her without a word. They helped her sit down against a rock, the rest of the wizards gathering around her.

"While Wendy rests, we need to come up with a plan." Damien said, taking point lead of the circle.

"That dark figure... "Levy spoke, looking at the Octova siblings. "That's Enrique Octova, Lucy's husband?"

"Yes." Emi nodded. Though Milky Way couldn't hold his shape, the tissue he left behind made his presence all too clear."

"What the hell did he say to Natsu?" Gray growled, a scowl distorting the shape of his face with irritation. A flaw of using Milky Way on objects to draw memories, is that there is no sound. That man obviously said something to Natsu, and from what they heard, Gray could only guess that it wasn't anything good. Add that with Natsu's feelings, and there was bound to be something catastrophic going on. They needed to figure it out fast.

"That attack as well." Gajeel added, perturbed after seeing the sealing of the dragon slayer's magic.

"I haven't seen anything like it." Rose added.

"First thing is first." Damien interrupted. Gray caught his gaze, and recognized the expression on his face. The expression mirroring his own. "We need to figure out where Natsu went."

* * *

_Chapter Eleven: Let Go_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	11. Let Go

Never Let Go  
Chapter Eleven: Let Go

**NATSU**

Natsu could feel the pound of his heart in his feet. Every beat, every step growing with speed and intensity the closer he got to the city. The dull silence of the past he had been left with stranded him a cycle of destructive thoughts. _'Catch her if you can.' _had more than one appearance in his thoughts.

What did he mean? The cold chill that raced down his spine with the same raw intensity as it had the first time he heard it, told him it was anything but good.

Was it something about letting Lucy take the fall for him? But he said it wasn't about that. He could just be misleading him. Dammit. Natsu wasn't the type to solve a problem like this by thinking. He had trusted Lucy to figure out problems like that.

_Had_ trusted? When had Natsu stated thinking about her in past tense? It must have been during those dark years where he could find where his trust lied. Ironic isn't it? The moment Lucy was undoubtedly seen trying to murder someone was what reminded him where he stood with her. No matter the charges, the danger... the pain, he was always on her side. Whether she was on his side was different matter. That would be something he was going to ask her when he did find her. And he would find her.

So, leaving the thinking to Lucy, Natsu stopped with the why, the how, the when, and focused on the where. That was something he could do.

Natsu stopped, took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and sifted the smells through his mind.

The increased smell of the fireworks, the people, the food, the sewage and trash, the gunpowder, the dry miss, the paint. All the unnecessary gone. There was one smell he was looking for, one that would never, no matter how hard he tried, be able to be erased from his heart and nose.

There it was, and with it came the most calming wave of emotion rolling over his chest. With feet running before he commanded them to, he raced towards that scent, the scent that no other could compare to, no matter how weak it was, it had the strongest hold on Natsu's heart.

Music, light, humidity, sweat, colour and a physical wall of humans slammed into him the second he crossed into the border of the main city. Crowds surged through the city in a parade, celebrating what they naively believed to be a savior in a time of crisis with no leader heading their army. Natsu staggered momentarily at the wave of peace the people buzzed with. He crashed back into a man who caught him and pulled him to his feet with ease. "Thanks." Natsu turned.

Tall with lean shoulders and a disciplined array of muscle, the man who had helped him smiled, a gleam flickering in his silver eyes too fast to catch. "No problem." He shrugged. He seemed to have caught Natsu's earlier astonishment when he nodded towards the crowd he seemed to be standing back from and said, "Surprising, isn't it?"

"I don't have time to chat." Natsu said, trying to shrug out of the man's arm without disrespecting him. Lucy's scent dangled in front of him and with the many questions he had to ask, and the words of Enrique Octova still weighing on his mind, he wanted to leave.

The man kept his hand around Natsu's bicep and continued, oblivious to Natsu's impatience. "There are so many who want to believe in him." Natsu noted the disgust he used referring to their about-to-be-new head general. "Yet they know nothing of him. Kept from politics for so many years and out of public eye, plotting and planning, we won't stand for this. We know the truth of the Octova prodigy." Prodigy? Another question for another time.

"I have to go." Natsu broke the grip and turned.

The man called one last thing behind him. "Head West."

The dragon looked over his shoulder, but the man was gone. He stood with indecision for a moment and sought for Lucy's scent. West. But how did he-?

Another time.

Natsu turned West, and scaled to the rooftops with ease, bypassing the crowd. Dark eyes flickered over the city. A tall church spire stood high above the towering buildings of Crocus- the western marker. He ran towards it.

...

**TEAM NATSU **

"South." Gajeel growled, his face strained. "No, he's heading South-west." Gajeel resigned, crouching down onto his haunches, only able to catch the whisper of Natsu's scent, nevermind Lucy's. "Being able to pick up such a faint scent from so far away, Salamander really is something."

"Natsu's amazing." Wendy sighed, relinquishing her own attempt to smell them out. "You both are. I can't smell past the city. Too many people. Too much activity."

"I don't think his strength in smell is what excels here." Erza sighed. "Lucy's smell is unique to Natsu in a way it will never be to us. He would be able to find her wherever she was."

"What about the sea water?" Emi remembered her talk with Gray in Magnolia. Lucy hid from Natsu near the beach because the salt covered her smell.

When Emi turned to face Gray, she met a knowing eyebrow raised above an equally sarcastic eye roll. Of course he always knew where she was. It seemed Natsu was more respectful of Lucy's privacy than she thought. Not that he would ever tell her that.

"As romantic as the scent connection is, it doesn't help us the slightest bit." Damien met Erza's gaze, both of the pair struggling to grip facts from traps. Ever since they had arrived they'd been running around in circles, playing Enrique's fun little game. As soon as they got close to a hypothesis that answered the questions, Enrique would change the game entirely and the list of questions would start anew. What did everything mean? What was he up to? What did he want? More importantly, how could they rescue Lucy? - that was if she even needed saving at all. They could have happily been chasing after Lucy all this time while he snook around behind their backs setting up a trap.

Dante Octova was right. He may have been a failure for a long time, but Enrique was in no way an idiot. They would not underestimate him any longer.

"So where are we heading?," Gray asked, his eyes roaming the city. His eyes narrowed, tracking something moving.

"Natsu's south-west from us." Gajeel said, rising to his feet with Levy hovering by his side.

"We'll have to loop round to catch up to him in time." Erza said.

"In that case, South or West?" Damien asked no one in particular.

"West." Gray said, cutting off any other proposal anyone had.

"Why West?" Emi asked. Gray didn't feel the need to grace her question with an answer and began heading to West at a fast jog.

Emi, too curious to back off, ran after him with everyone on her tail. She repeated her question.

Gray gave a sigh, and Emi wondered if she shouldn't have asked.

"Remember the stories Lucy used to tell you?" He said at last with an extra and unnecessary sigh.

"Yes." Emi answered, her intrigue piqued.

"Did she ever tell you about the time Natsu broke into Magnolia's clock tower?"

Emi had to think back to all the stories Lucy had told her; the foundations of the courage and the inspiration that lead her to the beginning of her adventure- though having Lucy's life at stake did damper the excitement a tad. Nevertheless, it lead her to the Fairy Tail guild and made Natsu fight once more for the piece of himself Lucy kept with her. Even after everything that had gone on, she wouldn't change the past at all if it meant losing her connection to the guild. Not for one second.

"I don't think so." Emi concluded, surprised there was a story she hadn't heard.

Erza came to his other side, partaking in the grill on Gray. "What does this have to do with-"

The ice mage cut her off with a gesture of his chin in their Western direction. "Oh." Erza said, her voice falling. "Crocus's Western point - the bell tower."

"You think Lucy's there?" Emi asked.

"Why would she be? I thought Enrique had her." Erza said.

"I have a theory." Gray said, his dark eyes locked onto the small spire beginning to peak over the outer building's top.

"What kind of theory?" Erza asked, trying to slay the voice inside her that doubted it would be right, considering their multiple failed hypotheses.

"That Lucy hasn't been as idle all this time."

"You don't think Enrique has her?" Erza asked, trying to process his accusation.

"It's just speculation." Gray shrugged. "But I think we've been underestimating Lucy all this time."

The group was faced with a momentary silence before the ice mage continued.

"It occurred to me after the ball, when Natsu said to believe in Lucy. You know when I told you about Natsu meeting up with Lucy a year and a half ago?"

"Yes." Emi said on behalf of the rest of the group. Gray had told them early next morning about Natsu's heartbreaking encounter.

"I don't think Lucy down for the count yet. She's still fighting, isn't she?"

Emi felt a smile grow on her face, and it seemed to be contagious.

"Do you guys ever lose faith?" Damien huffed, the light toy in his voice filling the calmed air.

Erza, Gray and the other Fairy Tail wizards just laughed.

...

**NATSU**

Fireworks rippled across the sky with a frightening crash, but it was the roar of the parade that hurt his ears. With each cheer, the houses seemed to shake under the quaking ground. Even so, none of the noise, the bangs, the screams, the pounding of the crowd could drown the pounding in his heart.

He was close.

He saw the tower rising above the city rooftops as he raced forwards, avoiding the stray and poorly aimed fireworks flying askew. Some people crowded their rooftops through hidden hatches and he flew past them too, their heads turning in a brief glance before they returned to look at the crowd.

Since the moment Lucy had stopped his heart cold, he wondered if it would ever beat again. And yet every moment he came close to her, every second he feared for her, and the instant that he saw her again, never mind the circumstances, he had felt that small beat inside his chest. And now, with every step he came closer, every inch her scent intensified, so close to catching her, he felt his heart pound against his chest, heat bursting through his skin, excitement he couldn't contain made him feel so warm inside. That or he was having a heart attack as his body struggled to keep up with the speed he was forcing it to go.

But he couldn't stop now. He couldn't slow. He was so close.

He flew forwards, watching the tower loom up tall above him. His feet flew from the roof, hitting the abandoned back streets of the city as he peered up at the grey brick building twirling up as if twisted with ridges until it's sharp spire point.

A bang jerked his concentration, whipping his eyes down to the bottom of the tower. Several men- each with an amber cross- stood at the door, a hammer in their hands trying to break through the chained doors to let them in.

A heavy thud vibrated dangerously in his chest as he stared at the men. They were coming for her. There was no one else. Natsu's eyes flashed up the ridges of the tower, ignoring the loud ring when the chains broke. Footsteps charged and disappeared into faint drumming as they scaled the spiral staircase inside the tower. A window, Natsu noticed, had no glass or lock, was half way up the tower. If Natsu went up the stairs he wouldn't make it in time and he wouldn't be able to get ahead of them. This way though...

He didn't need to think anymore. His feet bound from the concrete with an added push of flames. He hit the ridges and started leaping up each ridge at light speed, growing closer and closer the the running feet. He was only ahead of them for a second before he flung himself through the window, not bothering to waste a second waiting and crashed on the stone steps. He winced at one hitting his spine but clambered to his feet as the footsteps seized.

Several eyes widened in recognition -no doubt from his infamous reputation- but they said nothing and the front tier of soldiers lowered their weapons. Excitement tingled in his veins, his heart drumming. It's been a while since his last fight and he was more than ready to let rip. His fists cracked and shoulders popped, flame bursting to life in his hands. The soldiers looked him up and down with caution and threat.

"Who's first?" Natsu growled, a smile spreading across his face.

They charged.

…

Natsu climbed to the top of the tower, bloody bruised and stepping over the unconscious bodies that tried to escape him but didn't get far. He adjusted his askew scarf and felt the cold outside breeze run over his skin before he reached the archway. His knees shook for a second as the wind carried that strong scent- one he couldn't forget. He pulled his courage, ignored the swell of emotion in his chest and stepped outside. The bell had long since been removed from this tower, resting in the main castle spire instead. The bell would have been the only thing blocking his view, but it was no longer there, so as he stepped onto the balcony, his sight was clear.

Long blonde hair spilling over the back of a royal blue cloak, a silhouette in the bright festival light in front of her. She turned, flashes of firework light burning over her face with a surprised expression."Natsu?"

Deep down in his chest, he heard the faint sound of something snap.

He lunged.

…

**GRAY**

"They're on the rooftop!" Emi yelled, squeaking as an arrow whizzed past her ears.

"Dammit!" Damien yelled, swooping in and knocking back several arrows flying at him. One he missed and it headed straight towards his head, and was shattered into a thousand tiny splinters. "Rose!"Damien grinned as his wife's figure stood at the rooftop, the archers now half hanging from the walls.

"Ice make: Shield!" Gray yelled, slamming his fists on the floor. Bullet bounced from the ice but it wasn't long before a spear lodged right into the center of it and it shattered.

Erza made a lead to dash around a corner but men came spilling out, blocking their way. She backed herself into the group, sword wielded for protection. Some wizards were scattered within the ranks and were doing a fine job of blocking their magic. Not to mention all of them were Octova's. The other soldiers lifted their guns, sword and spears at them.

They were surrounded.

"Special division." Damien hissed, tossing the two gun he had tucked into his jeans on the floor. Emi dropped her boot knife -where she got them, we had no idea. Erza's weapons disappeared, Gray's hands dropped, Gajeel and Levy dropped their magic and rose their hands -Gajeel with the most reluctance.

A yelp turned their attention upwards as a girl went flying from the rooftop. Damien was already there as Rose dropped straight into his arms, and the man caught her with mysterious ease. How strong was he?

Rose pulled back her hair and huffed. "Nice catch." she muttered, giving him a peck on the cheek and leaping out of his arms. She scowled at the top where several men with swords stood gaping down at her. Jumping off a building with no hesitation- crazy woman.

"So, who do we owe the pleasure?" She asked into the surrounding soldiers.

"A maid should speak with the respect to her superiors." A cold voice called from behind the crowd.

Damien, Rose and Emi all visibly stiffened, their faces pale, their eyes wide. The soldiers parted themselves allowing a tall figure to pass through -two men in tow.

Light cut across the length of his square, scarred face. He was big, broad and had arms the size of barrels. Everything he wore was black; jeans, shirts, boots. None of them hid what he was packing- hard solid abs and thick leg muscles. Each piece of his skin was covered in dark, menacing tattoos. But the scariest part, was the smug grin on his face, pulling the dark whiskers on his chin, grazed by the long hair on his head.

Enrique Octova.

"You." Gray hissed. Every muscle in his body tensed to the point they ached. Gajeel was no better. They rose to the front of the pack- they knew a threat when they saw one- and this man, was most definitely the worst yet.

"I see the impolite attitude is a characteristic of your particular guild." He said, giving each wizard a mild assessment. His eyes stopped at Gajeel's and then Gray's, his lips twitching."Some more than others, it seems."

"Uncle." Damien growled, drawing the man's attention. His face openly grew cold, and angry. The presence of his nephew changed his manner in an instance.

"Still alive, boy?"Enrique bit, sea-blue eyes narrowing on the man. Damien was no boy, but Enrique didn't seem to care. "I thought I chased you out a long time ago."

"You set me up!" Damien roared, his body lunging. Rose tightened her grasp around his waist but barely managed to hold him back.

"Damien!" She cried, as Emi ran around him front, forcing him to take a step back.

Enrique smirked. Smirked! Gray got furious. He had no idea what he did to Damien, but whatever it was, it wasn't right. Fortunately, Gajeel seemed to have no resolve to stop him either.

Gray lurched forwards. His fist pounded into his palm, his mouth opening to speak. But before he got chance his body froze. "What the hell?" Gray growled, trying to move but couldn't. He looked up to the words 'Freeze' stood above him. "Levy!" He turned his head- the only part of his body that he could move.

"Smart girl." Enrique chuckled.

Gray's eyes turned and at that moment, he could see the figures bent below his body, their hands stuck in effect of Levy's spell. The touchy-poke thing! Dammit, he forgot about that. Furthermore, he could see the words also hovering above Gajeel's head. It wasn't that he wouldn't stop Gray, it was more he can't. Levy had already anticipated Gajeel's reaction- she knew him well.

"Gray." Erza stepped forwards, taking his body by the shoulder and moving him back- so others could move his body but he couldn't -nice. Gray stumbled to stand as stiff as a statue behind Erza. He turned and gave Levy a short glare before Gajeel growled at him. Gray shook him off -no point letting his frustration cause fights within the group.

"Erza Scarlet."Enrique almost purred. Erza's mouth twitched but her face betrayed nothing.

"You're not here to arrest us, so why are you in our way?"

"Why do you think I won't arrest you? You're escaped criminals after all." His eyes moved to Damien's who jerked his body in anger.

"Because we would be in a cell by now if you wanted that."

"You're right."Enrique's smile grew, impressed by Erza's wit. "And I thought your guild was full of nothing but headstrong brutes."

"I understand the position we're in." Erza's voice dropped, her feet moving her a dangerous step forwards. "But I will not allow you to insult my guild."

The temperature dropped so quickly, goosebumps rose over everyone's skin. The soldiers flinched, some even taking a step back without realising it. The two behind Enrique shivered under the atmosphere, but the man himself only gave a small twist of his lips. "I could use someone like you. Pity." Enrique sighed. "But you're guess was correct; I'm not here to arrest you. You'll be going back your own accord."

"Hah."Gray snorted.

"What about Lucy?" Levy murmured, trying to look the man in the eyes, but still hiding behind Gajeel's stiff form. Wendy stood behind her, Carla and Happy bundled tight to her chest.

"Lucy Heartfilia hasn't been in my possession for quite some time."

"What are you talking about?" Damien took a step forwards, eyes wild- something from his past came crawling forwards and it took his all to hide it. Somehow, the situation seemed familiar to him -not in the good way.

"I'm not the type to do things twice." He grinned. Damien started, his body jerking forwards, pure fury filling his eyes.

"You bas-"

"Damien!" Rose snapped, her hand slapping hard across his cheek. Damien turned on her in a snap making her flinch. Her reaction was what really brought him back. Pain flashed across his face and his head bowed.

"I'm sorry." He murmured.

"Don't you dare be sorry for what _that _did. You will get your revenge." She hissed. "But now isn't the time."

Damien looked at her with a refreshed gaze and softened, his arm snaked around her waist and pushed her behind his back. Emi ran up and wrapped her arms around his ribs. He squeezed her hand in response.

"How sweet." Enrique shrugged.

"Lucy." Erza snapped.

Enrique turned towards her, his smile going from creepy to frightening in a heartbeat. "Like I said, Lucy isn't in my possession. Though I don't think she'll be joining your company either."

"What are talking about?"

"No need to lie. I've known for a long time about her rendezvous with the Magic council."

"What?"

"Oh." Enrique mewled. "...you didn't know." He laughed, and it sent shivers down their spine.

"What are you talking about?" Gray hissed, hating the fact Levy still wouldn't release her spell.

"You'll find out- hm?" A small boy with quick legs came speeding around the corner, and whispered something into one of Enrique's side men's ears. The man nodded before stepping up to Enrique and passing on the message. Just when you thought Enrique's simle couldn't get any wider- it did.

His eyes gleamed, spinning his back on the wizards, head tilting back. Gray growled, furious that the man had the audacity to turn his back on them, but it didn't last long. Gray's eyes followed his. The top spire of the bell tower had their attention. Just peaking out the sea of houses, two figures stood near the edge. One was Natsu's -his pink hair made it easy. The other was blonde, and it took less than a second to guess who it was.

Gajeel's face paled, his body convulsing in his invisible binds. "What the hell is he doing?"

Gray looked between him and the pale Wendy stood with her eyes wide. He jumped back up to the bell tower and then he saw it. Their figures pressed so close it could be a hug- but it was far from it. Lucy stood on the very edge of the tower floor, threatening to fall, and Natsu stood next to her. They could have been talking, happy, reconciling. But they weren't. Instead...

Natsu had his hands round her throat.

"NATSU!" Gray roared, and Levy's spell shattered. The ice mage went to run, but before he could, the guards jumped forwards, their hands slamming against his chest, legs and arms. His knees went weak and he collapsed to his knees with a shocked gasp. Not only couldn't he use his magic, he couldn't move. And neither could anyone else. Wendy, Erza, Rose, Damien, Emi, Levy, Gajeel and the cats all slumped to their knees, guards standing near them.

"Enjoy the show."Enrique commanded, his eyes gleaming wide. A soldier stepped forward, each grabbing a handful of their hair and dragging them to their knees, their heads back and forcing their eyes to look forwards.

Lucy struggled, and fought, but she was pushed back and back until her feet slipped- the only thing keeping her from falling was the grasp around her neck. She kicked but couldn't reach him, swiped his arm, but they didn't budge. For one last second, Natsu shook his head and then he unwound his hands.

He let go.

Her form fell through the air. Time seemed to slow as her cloak and hair rippled. The tower felt so tall in that one second that could last them a life time. They felt cold and numb, their hearts dulling. She disappeared into the sea of houses where she met the fate of her fall; in a cold desolate street. Thieves would pick at her body and steal her clothes, and she would be left there to waste. Lucy would be no more.

She was dead.

Natsu killed her.

* * *

_Chapter Twelve: Gunshot_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	12. Gunshot

Never Let Go  
Chapter Twelve: Gunshot

**EMI**

The guards let go. Gray slumped forwards, his arms barely able to keep up enough strength to hold the weight of his heart dragging him down. "He said...he believed in her... yet he..." Gray barely whispered, unable to finish. The girl's voices fell into wails, the men sat still, frozen. Emi was silent, her eyes trained on the silhouette stood on top of the bell tower, his pink hair standing out in the light of the festival, stiff. His eyes never looked down. He leaned against a pillar and didn't move.

"Did you really think all that emotion could go away so easily?" Enrique said, his voice passive -almost sympathetic. "That betrayal, that heartbreak, that anger..." He didn't look away from the figure at the top of the tower. His voice turned cold, dull. "It never goes away."

And like a snap of a finger, the emotion was gone. He turned and looked down on the wizards cripple at his feet. He didn't smile, gloat, or sympathize. He looked at them with disgust.

"Leave." He turned.

"YOU DEMON!" Damien roared, tearing through the streets at the broad Octova back. Enrique turned and before Damien could reach him, his hand came crashing into his shoulder, knocking the man to the ground with enough force to kill. Rose yelped, darting forwards, pulling his head on her lap and sobbing.

"You may have figured the plan of mine to kill my niece," Enrique spoke, his voice dropping in warning. "But It was only one of many. Do not expect to come close enough to interfere again. I always win."

Enrique turned and left without another word.

The group sat in the empty abyss of the desolate street. The life of the festival only a few roads over felt so far away. It felt so cold...so empty. They didn't move for a long time, not even as the sky began to cry, freezing rain washing over their bodies. They could move by now, but the numbness wouldn't go away. The cold wouldn't go away. The pain wouldn't go away. Why wouldn't it go away?

"She can't be." Emi whispered. Her body staggered to stand her eyes looking up. The figure on the tower was gone. "He wouldn't!" Emi's feet ran, ignoring the voices behind her, charging with all her might, ignoring the rain, ignoring the pain fighting in her legs. He wouldn't kill her. He couldn't. Natsu couldn't. He loved Lucy. He-

She turned the corner to the street where she fell, and stopped dead.

Through a sheet of rain, she felt the world crumble. The prone body laid in the middle of the street, her body surrounded by a dark puddle, her head on a lap. Another figure laid over her, crushing her head to their chest, their whole body still.

Emi could hear the faint sounds of feet catching up to her, disjointed voices growing louder in the background.

The figure raised their hands, cupping the back of Lucy's head and resting it back on the ground with so much care before they pulled away. His hands fell to his side as he rose to his feet. For a while, he still stood there, looking down on her still form.

Lightening flashed through the sky and the figure's head glowed pink, his tears a white light against the darkness. "Natsu..." She uttered.

Everyone was behind her, their bodies still. He didn't look at them. But as the second streak of lightening came, their eyes winced at the brightness. When they looked back, he was gone.

Wendy took a step forwards towards the body, but Gajeel's arm went out around her shoulder, pulling her back against him. He didn't say anything but the message was clear.

Voices and shouting came from the distance along with the familiar sounds of soldier's footsteps- the magic council. "Let's go." Gray said and turned.

"But-" Wendy whimpered.

Gray shook his head."We can't be seen here."

They turned their backs on her body and disappeared into the night.

…

**EMI**

Natsu didn't return to the guild. He didn't return to the bar. He just didn't return. Fairy Tail wizards were sat on the floor, stood by the bar and hanging in the back garden. They didn't go out, the sky was overcast and there was too much commotion filling the streets. They had come from Magnolia after Master Makarov had heard what happened. At first they didn't believe it, but the ones that were closest not only to Lucy, but to Natsu as well, were the quietest. One man had come and had left the moment he had heard the story first-hand. He had turned and left and hadn't returned. He probably went to look for Natsu- if he could find him.

What happened that day, now one week ago, was still as ambiguous as it ever was. But the story behind Lucy was cleared. A man arrived, Dranbolt, a friend of Wendy's and the guild, and he explained everything else.

Lucy was hired by the magic council two years ago to be spy and follow the suspicious movement of Enrique Octova to see if he was trying a coup de' tat. They reinstated her fortune after Enrique showed instead in the Heartfilia's heir, and only a few weeks later, they were married. But Enrique was clever about what he did, and instead of Lucy helping the council, she was used to complete Enrique's plans. The attempted murder of the Octova Head was proof of that. He had known all along who she was. Last week was a means to an end for him.

Their investigation was still on going- but for now, Fairy Tail's involvement was suspended and they were not allowed to interfere any longer.

Dranbolt offered to stay but he only just managed to escape with his life after Gray almost killed him. The council were the reason Lucy was put in that situation in first place. From what they heard, they tried to protect her- not enough apparently. They would consider them lucky if they ever got the time of day from this guild at all in the future or any of the group gathered in the bar.

The rest of the members that travelled up to Crocus should have left, except they wouldn't leave. Not while their strongest team couldn't leave either. The team stayed, unable to leave behind the capital city with Lucy still fresh in their minds. The council hadn't said anything about her body, and no one asked about it. They weren't ready. Not yet.

"Emi?"A voice whispered, drawing the small girl out of her haze. She turned to see Mira hovering near by with a glass of water. She offered it to her and Emi took it, taking a small, weary sip. Food and drink didn't seem to have the same taste as it once did.

"Your brother went to see your father's secretary." Mira informed. Emi nodded, looking out the rain dappled window of the ledge she perched on. The grey skies twisted in the air. A storm was brewing.

"Thanks." Emi murmured. Mira nodded her head and left, knowing there wasn't much else she could say to her, or anybody for that matter. The bar had become the epitome of grief. It was almost comical to think of the contrast between when she met them for the first time- so loud and boisterous she was afraid to open the door, and now, they were so quiet and dull that she wouldn't even want to walk into a room with just one of them in. The same could have been said for her.

The door slammed open so hard the wood bounced from the walls. Rain and winds howled as the wizards stumbled to their feet. Their eyes turned to the doorway but before they could see what was going on, something went flying into the room so hard the tables and chairs and half of the bar were shattered before it lodged into the wall.

Gildarts stormed through the doorway, his face furious, enraged and coated in a sheet of rain that sent fear even into the strongest of mages. Emi sat plastered to her window ledge, too scared to breathe or move.

The wizards fled to either side of the room, staying as far out of his reach as possible. But his eyes were on one thing and one thing alone. He reached into the wall and yanked his prey free before throwing them down hard across the floor. They rolled and skidded until their limp body stopped in the centre of the room.

Emi felt her breath catch. Pink hair drenched and knotted with mud, his clothes torn and skin covered in cuts and bruises. He tried to lift himself from the ground but his arms shook and gave way.

"The truth!" Gildarts roared making the walls shake. Natsu said nothing, trying once again to lift his body and failing. His head dropped to the wooden floor, defeated and broken.

Gildarts lifted his foot above the dragon slayer's body and came down on him with enough force to break bones.

Emi screamed and without thinking rushed forwards.

Gildarts foot was up again but Emi flung herself over the slayer forcing Gildarts to step back.

"Move." He growled, his eyes dark. The guild members watched him with fright and shock, with even more so directed to Emi. She felt her heart clench and her lips let out a whimper but she refused to move. Even if she wanted to, she feared her legs wouldn't have enough strength to walk. "I. Said. Move."

"No!" Emi squeaked. She wanted to glare at him and home her point in, but her eyes couldn't bare to look at him.

Gildarts was furious with the most vile kind of anger she had ever seen but couldn't describe. It wasn't murderous. It wasn't evil. But it was by no means kind.

Natsu's body moved beneath hers, a hand gripping her shoulder with the strength of a mouse. His arm shook as he pushed her aside. He sat on his knees, his head bowed to the ground, his shoulders slumped.

"Did you kill that girl?" Gildarts asked.

"Yes." Natsu muttered.

Another foot flew forwards before Emi could get between them. Natsu's body flew backwards into another wall. His body crumbled forwards, dropping into a broken heap on the floor.

"Natsu!" Happy's voice came out as a whine but Gray had his hands wrapped so tight around the cat, he threatened to break him. Everybody else stood silent. A battle raged in their eyes, wanting to stop Gildarts, wanting to fight him and protect Natsu. Yet they stood still and watched.

"I. SAID. THE. TRUTH. NATSU!" Gildarts boomed. His hands went around the slayer's neck and pressed him against the wall- a grip so similar to the way he held Lucy- and that's what broke him.

The slayer kicked and fought, his voice coming out in broken screams. His hands shook, tearing at Gildarts' arms without hesitation and wild with fear. Tears dropped down his face, lunging for the ginger man to the point he was the one crushing his neck into Gildarts' hands. "LET ME GO!" Natsu cried.

Gildarts' entire aura shifted. His muscles relaxed, his shoulders sunk and his hands unwound from his neck. Relief swallowed him like an ocean. He lunged for the boy, his arms wrapping around his shoulders and crushing him against his chest. They sank to their knees and Natsu's entire body slumped into Gildarts', tears gushing down his eyes.

What?

"I-" Emi croaked, and almost jumped out of her skin when a hand settled on her shoulder. The fingers curled into her skin and she looked up to see Gray stood there. Happy was wailing into Wendy's arms, her own body sheltered in Levy's tight grasp.

"Natsu was lying." Gray whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Emi uttered, her eyes confused and puffy from tears.

"Natsu supposedly killed her in cold blood, right?" Gray asked, his face sinking into a weak smile. He looked exhausted. Exhausted but relieved. "Does that look like someone who just killed someone for revenge?"

Emi looked over. Natsu's eyes burned with tears, his hand gripping onto Gildarts as if he was the only thing left keeping him in this world. He looked heart-broken, grief-ridden and so pained she could barely stand to look.

"No." Emi croaked. "He doesn't."

…

**EMI**

Natsu cried himself into exhaustion, passing out in Gildarts' arms. From the looks of it, Natsu had neither slept, eaten or drank the entire week he'd been missing and his body couldn't keep it up any longer. His grief had stabbed a knife into his soul and they hadn't been there to drag him back. The gratitude and respect of everyone in the bar fled to Gildarts. No one had the courage to find him. It was painful to admit it, but nobody had cared- too selfishly wallowing in their own grief, nobody had wanted to help him. Emi couldn't help it, she felt guilty.

"Don't feel guilty." Erza said softly, as if reading the girl's thoughts. A little creepy, she'd admit.

"I-"wasn't. That's what she went to say, but Erza's intuition wasn't to be underestimated; there was no point in lying. "We should have searched for him too."

"Gildarts would have been the only one to break him." Erza reassured her.

"I know." Emi sighed. "But I didn't even spare him a thought."

"Grief is like a dark curtain. It blocks our eyes from seeing everyone around us. It makes us feel alone. But we're the only ones who can pull back the curtain for ourselves and look at those around us- how long that takes us though, is nothing to feel guilty about."Erza's words tugged at Emi's heart and although the self-reflecting part of her mind didn't want to, she still felt the relief take some of that weight from over her heart.

Erza gave her a small smile before relaxing the hand off her shoulder and going to find Gray. It was only seconds she was gone. But then again, it only took seconds.

The gunshot echoed in the room and silence fell. Emi's body was stiff but she felt the small pinch in the center of her back and then it grew. Her body rose to flames and everywhere felt like it burned. It was as if someone got a hot pocker and ran it through her back. She let out a wail and dropped to the ground, her hands pressing over the centre of the burn, trying her best to take the pain away. But it wouldn't. It wouldn't go away. She cried and shook against the ground, faint sounds of voices coming from around her. Her eyes grew heavy and she fought to keep them open, but she was so weak...

"Stay awake, Emi!" A voice snapped beside her. It seemed familiar. She reached up and felt silk material around her fingers. "Stay awake."

"What?" Her voice sounded so distant, the world a blur of white noise.

"You were shot Emi. Wendy got the bullet out. You're gonna be okay. Just stay awake. Don't die. Don't-"

_Natsu?_ His voice was shaking.

"Natsu, come on."Gray's voice came in.

She heard shuffling and her body moved without thought. Her fingers tightened around the silk material with all her might. "Don't leave..." She muttered. She fought the heavy pull on her mind and tried to keep concious. Natsu didn't kill Lu- a thought occurred to her. Gray had told her he hadn't killed for revenge...but that didn't mean he didn't kill her at all. Her weak heart squeezed but she pushed it down. Natsu saw Lucy die, and if he saw her die too... Her eyes flickered back to that moment, Natsu broken and destroyed in Gildarts' arms. She didn't want to see him like that again. Not ever. Natsu was the hero in Lucy's stories. No matter what, Natsu was supposed to be her hero too."You...you're the Hero, Natsu." Emi muttered, her strength fading.

"So...you have...to..." Her voice faded. All her strength was gone, and the darkness swept her away.

...

**LEVY**

The door burst open. His breath caught on his throat as he dropped to his knees. "Natsu!" Gray came out after the dragon slayer, grabbing him by the shoulders and yelling at him to pull himself together.

"The shooters are long gone." Gajeel growled, leaning against the doorway beside the script mage.

"Emi..." Levy muttered looking over her shoulder. Mira swiped at the wooden floor with furious swipes to remove the red stains sinking into the gaps between the planks.

"She's a nasty little thing." Gajeel grumbled. Levy turned on him like a wolf.

"What?" She snapped, sure she had misheard him.

"What she said to Natsu. It was harsh."

Levy studied his face. There was no ill intent in his expression, but the way his features screwed up into a scowl said he was definitely irritated.

"Why?"

"_'You're the Hero'_" Gajeel repeated. "He broke down only hours ago and she goes and shoves that entire weight, that responsibility on his shoulders." Gajeel shook his head in disgust.

"I don't think she meant it like that." Levy sighed, leaning into his thick arm. Levy was stood only a few inches beside her when it happened. Gajeel had instantly whipped her away, covering her until there was no sign of any more shooting. Only when he moved did she see Emi collapsed on the floor, crying out in agony. Natsu was the first one at her side. He must have woken up at the sound of the shot. But he was there. By her side. That broken expression on his face. Levy sighed, and leaned heavier against the iron slayer, needed that solid pillar he provided.

"Doesn't matter if she did or not." Gajeel grunted, but shifted slightly against the pole to accommodate the small mage and tuck her under his arm. His warmth – a dragon slayer trait (Excessive in Natsu's case)- cocooning around her, fighting the cold stormy winds. "Either way, Natsu no longer has a choice. He has to do it. Even if it kills him."

"But-"

Levy went to speak but it was cut off at the sound of a deep, familiar voice.

"What is it?" Damien stood in the drizzling rain, an umbrella tipping in his hands as he looked down at the dragon slayer.

Natsu opened his mouth to speak, but Gray grabbed him by the shoulder and shook his head. A moment later, Rose swept past the two near the doorway. Blood stained her clothes. She stood strong and met Damien's gaze.

Damien rushed forwards, almost slamming into her as he gripped her by the shoulders and looked her up and down. "You're hurt?" Rose shook her head.

"One of the wizards?" Damien muttered, sounding almost hopeful.

Rose shook her head again.

His face went so pale it was almost white. Everything that was him swept away as he gave his head a slow shake, staring holes into Rose's still face. "No." He croaked. "No!" He shoved past Rose and ran into the bar.

He stopped dead in the middle as his eyes met Mira's, travelling down the mop to the bucket of dilute red. He looked to the window, saw the small hole fracturing the glass. His face went still as he turned and saw everyone's face on his, pain and sympathy on each one.

"NO!" Damien bellowed, his voice breaking at the end. He shoved past everyone in his way, stumbling across the bar until he hit the door and crashed up the stairs.

Rose followed after him and the door swung closed. Everyone bowed their heads and sat their in silence for a long time.

"We're leaving."

Gajeel turned at the same time as Levy and saw the dripping wet fire dragon slayer stood staring at them. His pink hair plastered to his face, his spikes bowed, chin dripping. His eyes burned through with an intensity that was hard to refuse.

Levy nodded before the iron slayer got chance. "Okay."

As if sensing their presence, Erza, Gildarts, and Mira emerged from the bar. The other wizards felt the ripple of energy and turned to the group gathering at the door. Natsu's eyes looked to them and without another word they nodded, and turned.

Gildarts' stayed in the doorway. Levy turned over and gave him a glance but Gildarts' didn't move. He wasn't coming with them. There was something else in his eyes. A battle to come, but something else, some other idea holding him back. Gildarts was up to something. Levy gave him a short nod and caught up as Gajeel tucked her into the group, taking up the rear. Natsu spearheaded and nobody questioned.

Levy looked at his shoulders; broad, strong and straight. They no longer slumped, but Levy now understood the great weight that sat on him. She also knew Natsu wouldn't let Emi down. Natsu would be her Hero. He would do it. They needed him. They needed their fire dragon slayer. They needed their teammate.

They needed Natsu.

Everything else could wait.

* * *

_Chapter Thirteen: Nine Verse Nine-Hundred_

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**-A-ccentric**


	13. Nine Verse Nine-Hundred

**Hey guys, I get to upload this from southern Spain because I am on holiday but wordy not I haven't forgotten about you guys so enjoy your new chapter! **

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Never Let Go  
Chapter Thirteen: Nine Verse Nine-Hundred

**LEVY**

Crowds cheers escalated as they moved through the city. They took to the rooftops, saying nothing as Natsu cleared the first few stories in one jump. They followed. Gajeel took Levy under her arms and helped her up. With them all on the top they carried on, clearing rooftop after rooftop.

Another parade? Enrique seemed to be enjoying his position of power. He cherished it. He should. He killed for it, after all.

Levy couldn't help but feel disgusted at all the people wooing and cooing over him. She understood that they couldn't help it, but after Emi and...she just couldn't stand to look at them. They worshipped a murderer. Not a soldier. A murderer.

Levy shook her head and focused on keeping up. Enrique wouldn't show up at this parade until later. If anything, it would be best if they managed to get to him before his appearance. They wanted this done and over with. An audience was unnecessary.

The cold wind grew wilder with every howl of the dark clouds gathering in thick clumps over the sky.

"A storm's coming." Erza murmured.

"A big one." Gajeel nodded. He reached out and took Levy's hand without looking at her as their speed began to increase. Somehow, Natsu didn't seem concerned about accommodating anyone's speed to his own pace. There was only so much he could hold back with at the moment. Levy didn't blame him.

Instead, she held onto Gajeel's hand and made sure she kept up.

…

**GAJEEL**

The Octova estate was dead -that, would be an understatement. Not a single person, being or any living creature seemed to exist as they passed over a back wall. It was as if everyone had picked themselves up and just left.

Something was wrong.

The group pushed on but their high alert and caution was obvious. They felt it too.

Gajeel tugged Levy along behind him, making sure to keep her close. She was the smart type not the brawn. He didn't want anyone to grab her and put her in a position where she had to use brute strength to break free. Whatever was going on, he needed his full focus and protecting Levy took a little bit of that away. So long as he kept her safe, he could put his all into fighting.

They kept around the edges of the estate. Natsu kept up at front with a deadly silence. His pace had slowed considerably- at least he knew Natsu was sane...for now.

As they approached the house, the bad feeling inside him increased, and he watched everyone grow visibly tense. Levy's hand tightened around his as they found themselves a window to slip through.

The room was empty -no surprise there. This had to be a trap. Every body must have guessed it by now. Though there wasn't much they could do about it. They back out now, and who knows when they would get a chance to take the man out before he wipes Fairy Tail from existence. He's the head of the special forces army now. They've gotta face it, he could do whatever he liked. One single-branch guild like Fairy Tail was a minuscule existence. Gajeel had to catch himself before he let out a chuckle. The tiny voice in his mind made a comment that meant everything. _'Yeah,'_ it said, full of sarcasm- the jerk. _'like that's gonna happen'._ And it was right. No way anyone would take out Fairy Tail. He may have been on the other side before, but that just made it even clearer for him. Fairy Tail would probably the one guild that would always remain standing- army or God, they'd take it all on.

Gajeel helped Levy through the window, almost grinning at the boost in confidence radiating from his body. Levy must have felt it too as she relaxed a small bit beside him, absorbing his absoluteness.

They followed out of the room and saw Natsu scaling the stairs without any noise at all. Every floor they passed was barren one after the other. It was about floor seven when Natsu was pressed by a door with Gray on the other side as they peaked around. Stealth. Not exactly the dragon slayer's style but he had one fight to focus on. Enrique. And until then, he was going to avoid any fight at any cost to get to him. Enrique deserved every ounce of power the slayer was going to hit him with. Every. Single. Bit.

Though by the way his fists were coiled at his side, Gajeel could see the faint threads of restrain he was clinging onto. He pressed himself up besides the dragon slayer on the wall.

"How we doing this?" Gajeel whispered.

Natsu turned to look at him, eyes fierce. "Charge in and take every one out."

Gajeel grinned. Nice to know some things never change.

"Let's go."

Erza and Mira both in their strongest forms nodded, swinging back their fists and sent them crashing at the door. Gray, Natsu and Gajeel charged in first, magic swelling in their chests.

They came to a crashing stop into Natsu's back, the girls becoming collateral behind them.

"What the-" Gajeel began to say but his voice quickly found a place to hide.

Alone, in the centre of the massive ballroom, so big it could hold hundreds- no thousands, stood no one other than Enrique Octova. His body was in a dark navy suit, hiding the mass of muscles under his body. His back faced them, his hands fastened at the bottom of his spine as he looked out up at a canvas hanging from the wall. It was of a huge, intimidating man with burnt red hair and green eyes and a small petite blue-haired woman that had the warmest smile. They were the picture image of Damien and Emi.

"My father..."Enrique said, his back still remaining facing them. "He was such an intimidating man."

A hot blast of heat hit the iron slayer in the face and both Gray and Gajeel took an involuntary step back. All the hair on Natsu's back stood on end, flickers of flames dancing over his knuckles squeezed so tight by his side that blood to bleed through his fingers.

Enrique finally turned, his full attire hiding the beast of the man behind sophistication. "I expected you sooner, _murderer."_ Enrique grinned.

Natsu lost it.

He dove for the man, flames wrapping around his entire body. A terrifying roar left his jaws as he plunged his fist through the air.

Metal rang through the air and Natsu crashed back into Gajeel with enough force to make him grunt as they hit the back wall.

Smoke rose from the hot piece of metal. The sword lowered itself and as Gajeel picked himself up, and saw the figure that defended the Octova Head.

Dante Octova.

His dark red hair was brushed back, his eyes worn and tired, but even then, every inch of him radiated pure power. You don't mess with a man with him. Not if unless you had a death wish.

"Dante." Natsu bit, eyes glaring holes through them. He looked at the slayer, his eyes saying something the iron dragon slayer couldn't read. But Natsu sensed something and it was only a little bit, but he backed down.

Gajeel, though, didn't get the same message. The second Enrique turned himself away, Gajeel drove forwards. Iron coiled around his skin until it was all he was made of. His iron fist was a hair away from colliding against the man, before he was shoved to the floor.

Gajeel groaned, the ringing in his head overlapping Levy's small cries. He shook his head and turned and glared at the same Octova General. His foot dug into the iron slayer's back, his pupil's sharpening into thin slits.

Before Gajeel could dig his thoughts into it, he was collared by Dante and thrown down at the fire slayer's feet, his frustration evident with the extra shove he forced onto Gajeel. Levy dropped down beside him and helped him push his body to his feet.

His eyes glared at Dante whose grip on his sword tightened until his knuckles turned white. A cold shiver washed down Gajeel's spine and he took a cautioned step back to stand beside Natsu. He shared a look with his younger slayer comrade and understood why Natsu stood down. He couldn't explain it, but somehow or other, Dante was up to something -he made it known that he didn't appreciate their interference.

Dante's eyes shot holes into the fire dragon slayer. He must have heard about Lucy. He had his debt to her and he must have hoped Natsu was going to save her. That didn't happen though.

Gajeel pushed the thought aside and meanwhile dragged Levy behind his big barrier of a body.

Enrique studied Dante but his brother's face gave nothing away. Similarly, Enrique's face was a mask of neutrality as well. He stared at his second-in-command a moment longer before turning back to address the intruding group.

"Well," He clapped his hands together. The weight of hands clamping down on both his shoulders shoved the iron slayer down to the floor in surprise. He snapped his head and all of a sudden, rows upon rows of soldiers flooded the room, spears, guns, swords all pointed at them.

A trap.

Great.

"You're a group of criminals." He said, his eyes remaining on the dragon slayer longer than necessary. Fury relit in the dragon slayer's grip but the hands on his shoulders kept him pinned as they pressed down on the nerves in his shoulders. "And I have an army to run. No time to deal with you myself. I'm sure my men will keep you company long enough."

Enrique shrugged and straightened his tie before moving across to where the balcony was. Natsu jerked forwards, but his captured kept him in place, earning themselves a threatening growl. "Let. Me. Go." Natsu hissed. They flinched but didn't let go, resorting to extra pressure instead. Natsu grunted in pain as he shifted uncomfortably in their grasp. Several more of the pokey magic blocker men stood nearby.

Enrique turned at the balcony, the long curtains flickering at his ankles. The faint crowd rumbling in the city center, gathering around the long drop down below the balcony, awaiting their new general. His eyes fell on the slayer, no fear or care in them. "Kill them."

…

**NATSU **

Soldiers raced forwards, closing in on them, trapping them.

Nine verse nine-hundred. Even with magic there was only so much their advantage could give them. The ballroom was huge, four doors in each corner of the room excluding the balcony, with men pouring in at a frightening rate. Was there no end to them?

There was no time to think, no time to stop and figure things out. There was no time! Then again, Natsu stopped thinking long ago.

Natsu felt the blood in his body boil to the point it hurt. His muscles tense and waned under his body. Claws grew from his hands, scales rippling down his body. He didn't even notice. His eyes stuck to the back of the Octova general. Enrique Octova- the reason Lucy was dead.

Fury took him by the throat and Adrenalin surged through his veins. Fire burst from his body, overpowering whatever hold those soldiers held him with. They screamed and flew backwards, clutching the burning skin on their hands with agony. Natsu didn't care.

He flew to his feet, eyes wild and racing over everyone. He knew his friends were in battle, he knew they were struggling to fight. But Natsu couldn't find it in himself to help them. All that mattered was _him._ Soldiers circled them but none of them dared step forwards- if they could. Heat radiated off him in hot waves so dense nobody could break through.

Natsu took one step forwards. Glass shattered and the ground cracked beneath the density of his body. The path before him cleared in an instant as his lung inhaled a deep breath. "BREATH OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" Natsu roared, flames pouring from his huge iron lungs. Enrique's lips quirked.

The flames poured to either side of him, the curtains going up in blazing flames, falling into a pile of ashes. Enrique stood intact, an amused grin on his face.

The hot metal of the sword glowed with heat for a moment before fading and cooling. Dante lowered it, his eyes meeting the dragon slayer's. "Move." Natsu's voice dropped into a low growl that had everyone taking ten steps back.

Dante regarded the slayer, his eyes challenging. Something was clouding the Octova general's expression as clear logic began to creep through. He would stop Natsu. Damien had said it before, Dante's allegiance is with his superiors. You don't question your superiors.

Dante lifted his sword above his head, the blade tipped to the Earth.

Natsu's body burst with a cloak of fire, his fire-red eyes crazy with fight. He wasn't backing down.

Dante's eyes locked on the dragon slayer. He would fight him.

He didn't.

Dante sheathed his sword and stepped aside -Natsu's only obstacle _moved_. It was shocking enough that even Natsu's in his red haze paused, regarding the man. Dante didn't look away, meeting Natsu's flat gaze.

Then Damien's words infiltrated his mind again._ 'The family is built on trust.' _

Natsu's mouth flinched, threatening to break out into a smile. Trust, huh? It was almost comical. Natsu looked up to the frozen Octova head looking towards them, his face stunned. Not what he was expecting, it seemed. Natsu's eyes gleamed as his feet moved forwards. One step. Two steps. Three.

Enrique grew visibly distressed, turning with fury onto his elder brother. "DANTE!" He roared. Dante didn't say anything. He turned his back on the man and walked straight out the room.

His men gave a few looks to each other before breaking out into grins and following after their leader. The feelings were mutual it seemed.

The mass of soldiers' numbers dropped, but not enough. Even with Dante's special forces dropped from their ranks, there were still too many of them.

Soldiers scattered out of Natsu's way, and those daring to stay were dragged back by their comrades, directing their attacks on the Fairy Tail wizards brimming with rage.

"ENRIQUE!" Natsu roared, his body bursting forwards. The floor broke in the center, collapsing under the pressure as the dragon slayer shot forwards. His flames flew into the air, cloaking his body in a burning blaze. His arms extended with flaming wings, his legs behind him like a tail. A true dragon slayer.

His flaming wings shot backwards and he flew straight for Enrique. Nothing in the world could stop him. He would destroy him.

His flames crashed against his solid form. He got him!

Or not.

His body was shoved backwards with such a force that he flew straight to the other end of the huge room. The marble walls cracked as his body crumbled from the wall, dropping to his knees, dark eyes narrowing in fury. The burn of knuckles throbbed through his cheek, blood leaked from his lip. He wiped it away on the back of his hand and stood.

Enrique looked down on him. His irate anger twisted into a snarl."You are a thousand years too early to face me yet, kid." He heard Natsu hiss and smiled. "Dante may have let you pass, but my men won't."

A huge group of men came rushing forwards, swallowing the gap between the avenger and his prey. They clearer the ten-foot hole he created with ease and this time, Natsu could see it wouldn't be easy. They were wizards to top it off as well.

"NATSU!" Gray's voice yelled from over the other end of the room but they were too swarmed with their own soldiers to break through to him, wiping out the last of the magic-blockers. Natsu had no more time to think, nevermind reply.

They were already upon him.

Natsu ducked, missing a glowing spear slice over his head. He growled, driving towards the man who'd thrown it, keeping low to the ground.

An upper cut to the assailant's chin slid past his cheek as he dodged. Damn it.

Natsu followed with a sweep of his leg but before it could even hit his opponent, a chain wrapped around his calf and yanked.

His face smashed into the concrete floor- a faint sound of bone cracking.

Hot pain tore through his chest as he flipped -or at least tried to. A soldier twisted his sword into Natsu shoulder even deeper making him growl. His dark eyes flickered upwards, seeing the huge man staring down at him.

"Weak."Enrique growled, turned and walked to the balcony where a balloon awaited.

Natsu stiffened.

The world grew deadly quiet, the increasing roar of the crowd from the balcony faded. The war cries of the soldiers fell silent. The sounds of his friends couldn't reach him.

Something deep inside him opened. Natsu balked at the new hot and cold pressure growing in his chest. It wasn't the sword anymore, but something far worse. He twisted and cried out as it forced itself bigger, a bubble, heavy and painful expanding inside his packed tight body. Once last flash of cold, and then there was fire. Burning hot lava swelling in his chest, tearing at every ounce of his being. _It hurt. God, it hurt so much._ Natsu cried out, clawing at his chest to stop the pain but nothing would. It was consuming him. It pushed his organs out the way, pressing them against the inside of his rib cage. His lungs hitched unable to hold out against the pressure. His heart swelled and twisted like a wet rag as it pulsed with an intense burn for blood.

His shoulder's faint burn roared to life with a sharp slice cutting across the skin where the knife drove into him. Flames cut through the metal, the top half of the blade falling with a clatter to the concrete beside him. Natsu's eyes watched his shoulder with horror as liquid metal began to push up and out of the wound, running over his skin into a puddle on the floor. He roared, moving to grip his shoulder but his muscles tensed with lack of blood and oxygen. He couldn't move. He yelled and yelled in agony until the last few drops of the liquid sword was forced out of his body. But it wasn't over.

Small flames began to prick along the wounds burning against his skin. What happened to his iron scales? He was supposed to resist fire! The flames turned his skin a char black as it burned the exterior of the wound until it closed up completely. Then it stopped- if only.

His skin burned with raw scathing, carving crosses across his limbs, core and face. His eyes dried to the likeness of paper. His fingers felt broken in two with stabbing pain shooting through the tips and all the way down his nerves.

Something about it felt familiar, but he couldn't place it. He couldn't fight, or move, or even think. The pain was too much, his body was breaking down, he wasn't going to last. He wasn't going to survive.

He was going to die.

* * *

_Chapter Fourteen: Go Back_

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	14. Go Back

Never Let Go  
Chapter Fourteen: Go Back

**GRAY**

"NATSU!" Gray roared, charging forwards. "ICE SPEARS!" Gray roared, knocking back every one in his way. He cut through deeper than the rest of the group, not letting the fact they were surrounded stop him.

Natsu let out another screaming roar.

"Dammit!" Gray roared, slamming his foot into the neck of a soldier that stepped too close. He wished he could see what was going on, but there were too many men in his way. The men were too fast and strong for their group to take them all on at once.

What was going on?

The ground jerked beneath his feet and Gray stumbled for balance. His head snapped up in the direction it came from and froze. Gray felt the hot pulse before he saw it. A sea of men went bulldozing into the air like a huge wave as they were shoved back with the force of a tsunami- all swallowed by the shock wave.

Gray dropped to the ground just as it hit against him like the force of a fort wall. The men flew over his back as he forced his ice to bury hatchets into the ground, only just able to keep his body where it was. They struggled to maintain form against the boiling humidity of the air and Gray forced his magic to keep them cool.

Against the force threatening to knock his head off his shoulders, Gray looked up. His heart stopped.

A ball of fire stood in the centre of the room. Natsu. Except this was different. His flames weren't like before, sure they were intense, but never to such a level that it made Gray's eyes burn just looking at them. They looked wild, almost crazy. Out of control.

Something wasn't right.

"Na-"Gray choked on the taste of smoke clogging his throat, the moisture evaporated instantaneously. His hand clutched his throat and sent a burst of cold air down it, managing to calm the reaction. His throat still felt so dry that every time he swallowed it was like sandpaper rubbing against each other, but at least he was breathing.

Gray bit his lips closed despite the questions and curses ready to roll of his tongue. Instead he summoned all the strength he had, and shoved his body forwards. He moved deeper into the heat's territory and with each millimetre it became harder and harder- as if he was trying to walk through stone.

The closer he got, the burn on his skin intensified until he could see all the moisture evaporating from his skin. His muscles began to ache, it became harder to breath, to move. Darkness swept in and out of his vision, but if he let go, the force he would fly back at would break his bones for sure.

He fought and fought with all his will but it didn't stop his strength draining from him. He felt his ice hatches bend and melt under his hands, his fingers sinking through. He couldn't hold on any longer. His finger slipped and his body braced itself. He was going to fall.

No. He wouldn't let it.

Gray drained all his magic and forced it until his hatchet was solid again and he regained his grip.

"You. Will. Not. Pass." A voice growled.

Gray snapped his head up to see three men stood in front of the fire's epicentre. They each braced against his rippling heat with a little trouble- not enough to get in their way. The ball enveloping Natsu dissolved, and the pressure disappeared. Gray's body hit the ground with a thump, the weight on his muscles gone in a snap.

Gray looked up at the slayer and froze. Dark, iron-red scales covered his skin with charred lines, almost as if they were burnt into his skin with a blow torch. Long red claws reached from his fingers into long sharp points. Gray had never seen him this way before. He had barely gone far into his magic before, a few scales and claws but this... it was raw and pure.

His shoulder twitched, and Gray felt a ripple of fear pin him to the ground. His eyes widened.

This was...Natsu?

_RUN! _

Gray's thoughts raced and he realised the fear he felt wasn't for him.

It was for the soldiers.

Natsu's head rose and Gray's eyes widened. His eyes were wild, uncontrolled and furious. His concious was gone, his mind lost. He was pure animal- pure dragon.

Natsu's lips peeled back into a snarl as his eyes locked onto the soldiers, revealing long sharp canines.

He launched.

Flames whipped out in a scythe a mile long, slicing straight through the walls of the house, in a big wild whip. Gray saw the flames coming towards him and forced his body to move. But it wouldn't. He couldn't. They came at him like a roaring beast and Gray couldn't move his body fast enough.

A weight hit his shoulder and he was hit with a blast of cold air. He choked as his back slammed against the ridges of the stairs. Flames cut across them like a wall throwing him down the rest of the steps. Gray groaned and curled into a ball at the ache of his back, but he couldn't cripple in his pain long enough as he was shoved forwards again as a piece of wall collapsed on top of him.

He came to a stop against another wall and had to dodge himself as a piece of concrete on a wire swung through the air, missing his head by a hair. "Are you stupid?" A voice growled next to him.

He whipped his head to see Dante, dishevelled and heaving his chest up and down beside him.

"What?" Gray uttered in shock. Dante loomed up on him, his eyes furious.

"You must have rocks in your head."Dante hissed, dragging Gray to his feet and his body protested in a wave of aching.

"I don't!" Gray growled, ignoring his body and shoving Dante's arms off him. He was going to thank him for helping him but the idea dulled fast.

"You could have got yourself killed." He snarled. The man's composure was all but gone.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't lie. I know you sensed it."

Gray opened his mouth to argue but closed it. He was right. There was something wrong with Natsu, something...wild. Whatever it was, it wasn't Natsu.

"He's gone into full dragon-slayer mode."Dante explained. "He's too inexperienced to control it. It's too strong and he's losing to it."

Gray recalled the look in Natsu's eyes and it sent a shiver down his spine. "Why is this happening?" Gray growled, ready to bust his fist against anything he could find.

"Lucy's death."

"What?"

Something softened in Dante's eyes as if he was almost remorseful. That's right, he had a debt to pay to her in letting Natsu go...he must have wanted her to save her. Dante's emotions were too complex and Gray had no time to stop and ask questions about it now. 'Why' didn't matter at this point.

Gray turned his eyes onto Dante."How can we stop him?"

Dante looked down at the ice mage, almost surprised. His expression turned cold and Gray didn't like it. "There's nothing you can do." Dante said.

"There must be some way to stop him!" Gray insisted. There was always a way. He wouldn't let Natsu go mad. He would stop him. Like hell he was letting his rival go out in such a way.

A boom shook the house and the house cried out in pieces as the roof began to crumble, forcing the two mages to dodge out of the way. The house couldn't take anymore. If they were going to do anything, they had to do it fast.

"DANTE!"

The man whirled on him a second, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall. Gray growled and tried to break free of his grip but he couldn't.

"When I say there's nothing you can do, that means there's nothing you can do." Dante insisted. "You can't even get away from me. You go in there after him and he'll kill you."

"Natsu wouldn't-"

"He would."Dante's voice held no room for argument."He'll kill you in a second."

Gray couldn't reply. He felt a cold hand tense around his heart, his eyes heading back to that day one week ago. Natsu killed Lucy in his anger. And In his blind rage now, there was nothing Natsu wasn't capable of.

Dante released the ice mage, sensing the defeat in his eyes.

"What about you?" Gray caught his attention, his head bowed to the ground.

"I..."Dante said. "...will stop him."

His eyes flickered up to the general's head, studying his face."You?"Gray asked, though his voice didn't challenge the general's capabilities."But you said there was nothing that could be done."

Dante paused for a moment, debris falling all around him. He didn't turn to the ice mage, he didn't even look at him. His head remained forwards, eyes on the half broken stairs leading back up to whatever was left of the ballroom.

"I said there was nothing _you_ could do."

"Whatever it is your going to do, I can do it!" Gray snapped. His eyes regaining that flicker of fight. He wanted to save Natsu. No matter what.

"Then,"Dante turned to him with such intensity it that Gray backed against the wall. His hand slammed against the concrete beside the ice mage's head. "Can you kill your best friend?"

"What?"Gray's voice dropped to a whisper his eyes going wide with shock. "You can't kill him!"

"I can." Dante said, turning and walking away. "And I will."

"I'm afraid..." A voice cut in before Gray could speak. "I can't allow that."

He felt his heart thud to the bottom of his chest as he gasped in recognition. His eyes widened in shock. _It can't be..._

…

**ERZA **

Levy stumbled out the building as another part of the house came crashing down. Gajeel grabbed her and helped her out of the range of the collapsing building.

"Where's Gray?"Erza shouted over the roar of people.

"He's still inside. General what's-his-face went to get him."Gajeel grumbled, helping Levy get the stones out of her hair.

Gajeel looked up at the building, hot flames cutting through the building in massive whips. Even at the edge of the entire estate it didn't stop the intense burst of heat from each movement. Walls and huge pieces of concrete went flying like meteors across the garden. There were soldiers fleeing in every direction fighting each other to get to safety.

Their team had got out without a scratch. Luckily for them, they had someone guiding their way.

Mira looked towards the collapsing building."Do you think _he _made it back in time to get them both?"

"Dunno." Gajeel grumbled.

"I didn't think we would see him again, not with..." Levy's voice faded, unable to finish the sentence. Erza didn't blame her, even she hadn't come to terms with it. _This_ just made it even more difficult.

"No. I didn't either."Levy sighed softly.

"It's a good sign." Erza sighed and turned away. "We have no time to wait for them, we have to follow after Enrique." Enrique had gone from the balcony onto some kind of balloon float and took the crowd and parade across the city to the army's main building. One with an even bigger balcony pedestal for Crocus's new head general. "We have to get there before Natsu-"

A high pitch boom had all the wizards clapping their hands over their ears. A firework shot into the sky, zooming across the city at a speed that broke the sound barrier. "Dammit!"Gajeel growled. "He's gone."

Erza's eyes narrowed on him. Her stomach's uneasy feeling hadn't left her the second Natsu snapped.

The three that stood up to him were elites. The top class of the special forces. Combat wizards. They could have been Generals but were too independent. They were strong. They had been defeated.

Erza refused to believe Natsu had done anything more to them. Despite what Dante said, she refused to believe he would kill anyone. Lucy flashed to her mind but she shook her head. That was different. There was something Natsu hadn't told them about yet. Something important.

Still, Natsu had defeated three top class wizards in less than a minute.

Once again, Dante's words popped back into her head._ 'He's gone blind with rage and his dragon slayer power has gone out of control.' _. That's what he'd told them. He also said he would stop him. But how do you stop a dragon slayer out of control with that much power?... Erza feared even Gildarts couldn't stop him.

No time to think about now. "Come on." Erza commanded breaking into a run. "After him!"Gajeel, and Levy and Mira broke into a run behind her.

Dante and Gray would just have to catch up with them later.

...

**NATSU**

He was close.

He could smell him.

Eyes narrowed on the crowd surrounding a building in the centre of town. A long wide balcony hung off the side of his grey stone walls. A man in a black suit stood on top of it. Natsu's lips pulled into a snarl so wide his skin threatened to tear. A fraction of the weight in his chest threw back into his legs making his muscles jerk as fire exploded behind him. His direction headed straight for the man but he couldn't control it completely.

He was heading for the crowd. Screams and yelling erupted from the area before he came crashing down. He was going to crash right into the people.

He didn't care.

He hit the ground, concrete spitting up around him. He rolled with the force, but collided with nothing as he turned and drove from the ground up into the air again. His magic pulled itself back into his chest and he landed on top of the balcony. The stone railings cracked under his weight as he stared down at the men.

His lips lifted into a sneer, eyes wide and body shivering in anger. "How dare you-" He boomed but it was cut short as Natsu leapt forwards.

His fist cracked against the man's forearm as he lifted to block. But the force couldn't be stopped as his body was driven back to the wall.

Still, Enrique withstood most of the force and turned quickly on his feet as Natsu drove his other fist forwards. It hit the wall and stone blew apart half of the building. The pour that broke from him gave a flicker of release but it would just swell up again and force his body to move. It tried to crawl into his heart, but Natsu fought it down, and fought it down with each time it tried to get in. If he let go, he had a feeling he wouldn't be coming back.

It hurt his body, the pain of the mass in his chest. Only Enrique could make it go away. Only when he stopped moving would it stop. The pain would go away. All of it would go away. He could be free.

He would avenge Lucy.

He could hear the screams of the crowd but didn't care.

Enrique's body shifted as he saw the corner of the huge building dissolved into ash, the other corners crumbling. Enrique's eyes landed on the dragon slayer, sensing his threat. Natsu drove fist after fist at the man. Instead of dodging before, Enrique made it a mission to block every single on of his hits. Of course, he didn't want Natsu damaging his special buildings.

Natsu didn't care what he damaged, except if it was Enrique. But the man wasn't giving up that easily.

He grabbed Natsu's wrist and jerked his body forwards, his own fist landing against Natsu's face. Natsu was blown back with a force that brought blood up to his mouth as he crashed through the walls of the buildings. He heard his rib crack but everything had long since gone numb. His knuckles were broken and torn to the point he could see faint bits of bone beneath the open flesh. His legs and arm muscles were almost torn to shreds.

It didn't matter.

Only Enrique.

Natsu felt the weight in his chest swell again and hit bit it down, and let it shoot power to his feet. He shot forwards, crashing into Enrique's figure. His skin burned against Enrique's from the heat of his body. Enrique growled, grabbing the boy by the shoulders, swinging and tossing him over the edge of the balcony.

He came to a stop in the side of another building, debris falling into the crowd below. He didn't hear it hit the ground but charged forwards none the less. Enrique crashed blow after blow into the dragon slayer but Natsu didn't bother to dodge, taking all the damage for the small opportunity it gave him to drive his fists into Enrique's face.

"Natsu!" Voice's called from somewhere below him. They sounded familiar but disappeared into the background as rain began to roll down from the sky.

The pain in his chest twisted and he drove his hand forwards even faster and quicker. Enrique didn't stop either, his face bloodied but driven to crush the dragon slayer with everything he had. And he used_ everything_.

Natsu leapt forwards towards his face, Enrique's water-coated fist flying up to his stomach. He felt the pound of the blow like a dull prod as his hand cracked against Enrique's jaw.

Enrique's next move was faster than Natsu's, grabbing him by the head and tossing his body turning through the air into the side of the wall. Natsu's body dropped to the floor of the balcony and he shoved his body to stand. He went to move forwards but his knees met the concrete.

What?

A cold ache swallowed the entire bottom half of his stomach as he tried to push to his feet again but couldn't. He looked down and saw the watered coat over the marble...washed with red. His eyes looked up to Enrique, a knife pressed into the wrap of his knuckles.

_Oh._

The weight in his stomach tried to invade the cold ache and burn the wound closed like before. But the cold fought back, battling with the power inside of him.

"I should thank you."Enrique grinned through his bloodied mouth. He spat the red liquid onto the marble on the floorr, his voice loud against the growing rumble of thunder."You gave me a chance to prove to the people what happens to those who oppose me. Even murderers like you."

Natsu's body jerked at his words. Fire burned over his skin, his arms and fist and legs. Natsu felt that painful swell in his chest tighten and Natsu choked on his lungs. Each breath was like hot coals cracking against his aching ribs. But that didn't matter to him. The coldness in his stomach was soon forgotten as Natsu staggered to his feet. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID!"Natsu roared.

His arms lurched forwards, driving around Enrique's neck. The knife flew from his hand, slipping on the water and skidding to the edge of the balcony. The force of Enrique's body coming down broke through the stone railings. He grunted as he was slammed onto the edge, Natsu's hands pressing his neck onto the crumbling stone, as his head balanced over the ledge.

"YOU MADE HER LET GO!" The hot white scar over his hand throbbed with more heat than anything else on his body.

"Let go?" Enrique chuckled through Natsu's fingers. "You killed her!"

"NO!" Natsu's hands tightened and Enrique let out a grunt of air, his voice silenced. A flash crossed Enrique's eyes as his thoughts raced, blue coming into his cheeks.

A burst of ice stabbed through his nerves. Enrique brought his fist back and crashed it into the wound in Natsu's stomach again.

Blood filled Natsu's throat and he gagged, his grip slipping for a fraction of a second.

It was all Enrique needed. He lifted his fist and drove it into the dragon slayer's throat making him choke, a mouthful of blood spluttering from his lips. Enrique drove over the dragon slayer's body, pressing his neck over the edge in turn.

Natsu's hands fought around the man's thick, tattooed sleeves, reaching further to grasp for his neck. He moved his legs to kick him, but his legs were too heavy, he couldn't lift them. He couldn't move. He was helpless.

She had been helpless.

Suddenly Enrique's face distorted into Lucy's. His hands were around her throat as she scratched and held her weight on the edge of his arms, her nails digging into his skin.

No. He didn't want to think about it. He couldn't go back there. He couldn't.

_No._

_No!_

_NO!_

He couldn't fight it. The lack of oxygen swallowed his mind and dragged him to the depths of his subconscious, taking to the place he never wanted to ever go again.

Back to the day Lucy died.

To the day he killed her.

* * *

_Chapter Fifteen: Looking For..._

* * *

**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	15. Looking For

**WARNING: ONLY TWO CHAPTERS REMAINING!**

Never Let Go  
Chapter Fifteen: Looking For...

**NATSU**

_One week ago..._

_Natsu lunged._

_He slammed into her, his arms going around her. Lucy gave out a startled gasp as her breath leapt from her lungs._

_"Natsu!" She yelped but her voice was cut off as her face slammed against his chest._

_His arms hugged around her back in a death grip, pulling her body as tight as he could into him. His nose was overwhelmed with the soft scent of vanilla and strawberries and he plunged his face deeper into her neck in response. Her shoulder dampened in a second as his emotions could no longer hold it all in. "Lucy."Natsu whimpered. "Lucy. Lucy. Lucy."His arms held onto her like she was his only tether to the Earth. The pain in the muscles as they gripped onto her with everything was the only thing letting him know it wasn't a dream. Lucy was real. Lucy was there. Lucy was back in his arms. "I'm never letting you go again!"He didn't care what she thought. That man was evil. She would have to fight him before he ever let her go back to him."You're coming home whether you like it or not."_

_A chuckle caught his ear as he felt a tight squeeze around his waist. "So I don't get a choice then?" Her face snuggled under his chin sending a wave of warm around his body. "Nice to know some things don't change." She sighed, leaning into him._

_Natsu pulled back long enough to look down into her face. It had gotten sharper and if possible, more beautiful than the last time he had seen her. Tears rolled down her eyes as she looked up at his face, a familiar relief rolling through her eyes._

_"You're coming home?" The way he said home made warmth flood through his body. An image flickered through his mind._

_...Natsu and Happy would be lying on her bed with the window open, Lucy would come charging through and yelling at them to get out of her room. He'd reach for her and drag her into the bed before she could get out of his range. She would struggle against him but when she thought he was asleep, she'd give up and sigh at him. He wouldn't really be asleep but when she'd run her fingers through his hair he'd pretend to snuggle closer to her just to take in her smell and would release a contented sigh. Then she'd realise he was awake and get that cute little blush on her cheeks before yelling at him again..._

_Natsu's heart swelled as his premonition came to an end. A grin he hadn't felt in a long time broke across his face as he tucked her back against him before she could say anything. It didn't matter what she said. She was coming home. He'd decided._

_It didn't matter what she had done, or was going to do. He'd have her even if he had to fight with everything he had to keep her. He wouldn't let her go. Never. Again._

_"Natsu." Lucy growled, pushing back from his chest. "Let go!"When he didn't, she reached up to his chest, grabbed his skin and twisted. He yelped and let go, rubbing the spot she pinched._

_"Ouch, Luce." He whimpered._

_Her recognition of the name showed on her face as she fought to hide the small smile on her lips. Then something came across her face and wiped it away completely. She became thoughtful, and her eyebrows pinched together._

_"Natsu!" She gasped, turning to him. "You need to go, soldiers will be here any moment."_

_"Don't worry." Natsu grinned, puffing his chest up in pride. "I got it covered."_

_"What?" Lucy exclaimed, not looking happy. Natsu gave her a puzzled look as she looked behind him to see the limp hand resting on the top step of the arch way. Her face became troubled. She wasn't happy._

_She was thoughtful for a long moment, a strand of her hair falling over her face. Natsu smiled and reached up to push it out of the way of her face when she slapped it away. Hard._

_"Ow!"Natsu whimpered, holding his red hand close to his body._

_"Don't be a baby." She grumbled and went back to her problem. Natsu figured she didn't realise she said the same to thing like she used to. It just made it that little bit more charming._

_Lucy's body tensed. A yell went out from the distance of the city and she turned on her heels in an instant._

_"Is that Gray and everybody?" Natsu looked over her shoulder. She squinted but Natsu could see it easy enough. A group of soldiers surrounded them as a man approached through the crowd. Natsu recognised that back anywhere. "Enrique."He growled, his voice laced with venom._

_Lucy turned on him and panicked thoughts raced across her face. He didn't like where it was going and from the pain in her eyes, she didn't like it either._

_She moved towards him with tense steps. Natsu eyed her with weary. He knew Lucy well enough to know he wasn't about to like what she was going to say._

_"Natsu."Lucy said, her voice commanding but stiff. "Put your hands around my neck."_

_"What?" Lucy grabbed him by the wrists and dragged him close to the edge of the building. Too close. Her tip toes barely stood on the edge. She lifted his arms and put them around her neck._

_Panic raced through him as he watched her with widened eyes. "Lucy." Natsu said, his voice sharp. "What are you doing?"_

_"Trust me. Natsu." Lucy said. She took a step back and her feet dropped off the edge. Natsu's hands tightened around her throat to keep her from falling. He went to move them back but Lucy bit her nails into his arms._

_"Don't move!" She hissed. She used her upper body strength to keep the pressure of his grip off her neck so she could talk. Her eyes held steady and spoke to Natsu with an even, confidence voice. "Natsu." She said. "Let me go."_

_"WHAT?" Natsu's voice came out as a near scream of shock. "What are you talking about? I'm not letting you go. You'll fall."_

_Her face twisted in response to the look on his face. "I'll explain everything. You need to let me go. Now."_

_"No." Fear sent his heart into a panic attack in his chest. His body was shaking with fear and just as her was about to take a step back Lucy jerked her body forwards making him stumble right up to the edge. _

_"LUCY!" He yelped._

_"Let me go." She insisted._

_"No." Natsu went to take another step and she jerked him forwards._

_"I'll explain everything later. But right now you need to let me go."_

_"No."_

_"Na-"_

_"No." Natsu growled. "I'm not letting you go. Never."_

_Lucy released one of her arms giving a small gasp as Natsu held tighter onto her neck to keep her from slipping. He wanted to grab any other part of her but if he let go she would fall._

_Lucy took in a struggled breath and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "Natsu, I promise everything will be explained."She gave him a small smile. "I have to do this. I'm sorry."_

_Her hand lunged forwards and a knife sliced across his skin. His hand jerked away from her and his heart stopped. Her watched as his other hand slipped loose under her weight._

_She fell._

_"NO!" Natsu roared._

_He watched her fall, his body gone cold and numb. Seconds before she hit the ground he was overwhelmed and his eyes squeezed closed. His heart was like an iron as he collapsed against the pillar._

_He couldn't breath, he couldn't move, the world spun around him._

_"What have I done?"_

_…_

**NATSU**

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" Natsu struggled beneath Enrique's grip. His hands pummeled into the man's face over and over again. Adrenalin shot through his body, his body moving on its own as his mind collapsed.

He couldn't.

He was killing her.

Enrique's face wasn't Lucy's anymore. It was his. It was Natsu's

Natsu pounded his hands into his own face over and over, fighting to make it let him go. To pull back. He had to fight himself. Stop himself. He was going to kill her. Natsu was going to kill her.

"You're a murderer."Enrique's voice whispered through his face.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Natsu roared back. The image of his face flickering for a second.

It came back all too quickly and in his own voice it whispered. "No...you did."

Natsu's heart thudded. The swell in his chest lunged for his heart and he couldn't fight it. The guilt pinned his will to fight down and let it flooded in. It was like a drug, numbing over his body and in senses. His mind seemed to leave his body, looking through his eyes as if from a lacrima screen. He watched his bloody fists hit Enrique's face over and over again and he felt nothing.

Enrique was right. He was the one who shouldn't have let go- no matter how hard she hurt him. Nothing should have made him let her go. He was the one who let her down. He was the one who let her die. He killed her.

Natsu was slammed back down into his body as a whistle shot past his ear. He watched Enrique's face twist in pain as he let out a harsh growl. Enrique's shoulders drooped as he grip around Natsu's neck loosened.

He had his hands around Natsu's neck for no longer than thirty seconds before they were slipping loose. Natsu's body reacted and his fist went up into his shoulder, knocking the man from on top of him. Enrique's body slipped over the edge, body sailing through the air. A silver tipped arrow piercing his back.

His body stopped mid-air as the magic council took him into their grasp. Gildarts was there too. He was looking down at his hand, a small red dot dropped in the middle, and then another and another. His head slowly turned up, his eyes meeting Natsu's, his face growing pale. His mouth opened but Natsu's couldn't hear him anymore. He was so far away.

Natsu wanted to respond but his body was all but numb as he still stared at Enrique's body. Guards hovered around him, no doubt fixing him up so he could be thrown in jail.

Natsu was reminded of Enrique's older brother and the similarity of their fates. One could appreciate the irony. Of course though, the one who shot his brother was...

His mind stopped. Natsu's limp body had no strength left but some force pulled his head back and up. On the roof of the building, at the edge of the crumbling wall stood a figure. The foggy grey clouds parted in the sky, cutting a black silhouette through the burning sunset. Long hair rode in the calm breeze, a bow lowered to their side. The way the bow crooked in her arms cast an outline of arches behind her back. They looked like wings...The wings of an angel.

The clouds passed over the sun again and a face looked down on the dragon slayer. He felt the swell in his chest disappear in an instant, and his heart freed as he looked up. His vision blurred as darkness swept in. Even with the tears down her cheeks, he could make that face out anywhere.

Lucy.

…

**GRAY**

Three weeks had passed. Three! Not only himself but the rest of the guild were stuck in Damien's bar, jumping to life the second the door opened. Except every time it opened, it wasn't who they were waiting for. Erza and Gildarts stayed with Wendy and the cats back at another of the Octova buildings, waiting to hear about Natsu. Mira went to envoy back to the guild, or what was left of it after Gildarts had spoken to Master.

"Did she not come back?" A voice caught his attention from the gloomy, irritating ale sat in front of him.

"No." Gray turned, watching Emi as she hobbled up onto a bar stool. "And you shouldn't be walking around."

"It passed straight through. Missed any vital organs. Plus, Wendy healed me as well." Emi counted off her fingers before adding one more. "And Damien was getting overbearing."

Grey chuckled. Emi was a tough girl, even a bullet couldn't keep her down. In fact, her mentality was almost scary.

Her face sank into a frown as she glanced at the door as did a few other people in the room when they noticed. When no one walked through, they sighed and walked back to their drinks.

"You sure it was her?" Emi asked. Gray gave her an odd look, she seemed relieved, yet disappointed. Anybody would be if you found out that your role model -who was supposed to be dead but turned out to be alive- up and left.

"Yeah it was her." Gray said. "I heard she did training before her mission; archery. She was good at it too."

"Why did she leave?"

"Dunno."

The bar doors swung open and everybody rounded towards it, but once again, it wasn't who they wanted. In fact, it was one of Gray's top ten list of people he didn't want to see.

"Dante." Gray growled.

He looked down on the ice mage, donned in a fresh uniform, even decorated with his amber cross and sword. His eyes held that flat look that didn't care what Gray thought of him. Dante was the type that did what needed to be done. No matter _who_ or what he had to do. "I'm looking for Miss Heartfilia." He said, causing an instant ripple across the bar.

Gray stood to his feet, and marched right over to him, eyes narrowed into a glare. "Not sure where you got your information, but she's not here."

"She's not?" He looked surprised, looking around to make sure. Confirming she wasn't there, he turned and walked towards the door. A second later, another figure stumbled in.

"I thought you said she was here." Dante growled, obviously not liking being messed around with.

"I didn't think you'd bring me along..." Loki grumbled, dusting himself off.

"You know where she is." Dante said. "Tell me."

"He doesn't have to tell you anything." Gray growled, taking any opportunity to pick a fight with the man.

"Gray, you can't fight with him." Loki rested his hand on Gray's shoulder and gave it a tug back to break room between the sizzling electricity between the men. '_Can't' _Gray fumed, not '_shouldn't'_. Dante dusted off Gray's challenge as childish resentment, and the ice mage could see it in his eyes. It only fired him up more. "He wasn't completely in the wrong."

"So you can fight with him but I can't?" Gray's eyes rushed back to that moment in the Octova estate and felt his heart burn.

…

_Dante turned to him with such intensity that Gray backed against the wall. His hand slammed against the concrete beside the ice mage's head. "Can you kill your best friend?"_

"_What?" Gray's voice dropped to a whisper, his eyes going wide with shock. "You can't kill him!"_

"_I can." Dante said, turning and walking away. "And I will."_

"_I'm afraid..." A voice cut in before Gray could speak. "I can't allow that."_

_He felt his heart thud to the bottom of his chest as he gasped in recognition. His eyes widened in shock. It can't be..._

"_Loki!" Gray breathed._

_Loki looked at the ice mage, his gaze soft and sad. "Yo."_

_Gray couldn't hide the pitiful expression he had on his face. When one thought Loki, another thought followed.. but that couldn't be true._

"_You got a new master?" Gray's voice was barely a whisper. Loki's face looked pained at his friend but a moment later it turned into a small, relieved smile._

"_No." He said._

_Oh. Gray recalled the fact that Loki could go through his gate with his own magic and felt his heart ache. He hated the little piece of his heart that was disappointed. It hoped Loki would deny the fact Lucy was dead. Of all people, Loki would be the one who knew for certain._

"_Don't need one." He said._

_Gray's head snapped up, confused and bewildered by the sly grin on his face. "Then..."_

"_You said there was only one way to stop Natsu, General." Loki turned towards Dante. "But there is in fact two. You just didn't know the other one existed yet."_

"_...Lucy's alive?" Dante asked, his face that seemed to lack to ability to show any emotion on the tender scale actually looked relieved, almost...happy?_

_But Gray didn't care about Dante at that moment. A whole wave of relief was smothering him to death._

_Lucy was alive._

_A boom ricocheted through the house and the structure screamed in response. Virgo appeared beside them. "Time for punishment, brother?" She said, and looked around. Her face smiled at Gray before she dropped into the ground, knowing there was no time for an answer. They dropped through the tunnel with no questions asked and followed her outside._

"_What was that?" Gray growled, looking back at the pile of rocks that may once have been a standing building. "Natsu-"_

"_-is long gone." Dante finished, looking at the flames raising from the buildings._

"_Seems all the soldiers got out with their lives. Some more than others." Loki mused, looking down at the three elite soldiers, naked. Their clothes remained as ash scattered across their skin._

_Dante's growl caught his attention as Virgo disappearance into dust. Dante glared into the direction of flames flying up from the city. "He's dangerous."_

_Loki reached forwards and set a hand on the man's shoulder, earning him a growl. He raised his palms in surrender with a soft chuckle. "Let's leave it to Lucy."_

…

Gray finished his recollection, with his eyes trained on Dante's face. Of course, the man hadn't stayed around long enough to actually leave it to her, running in that direction the moment Loki finished speaking. But the lion spirit was right; Lucy's spirits had popped up all over town and were the ones to save the crowd from all of Natsu's wild fighting and crashing. His meteor entrance almost wiped out the entire crowd if Loki hadn't caught up and with Virgo and Caprico's help, moved the people out of the way. They also had Aquarius counter Natsu's flames so he didn't barbecue the population. And then there was Taurus stopping the debris crushing people.

Lucy must have gotten a lot stronger over the past two years to use so many spirits at once and for so long. But in fact, Natsu's fight hadn't lasted longer than five minutes.

"The general wasn't wrong." Loki shrugged. "There wasn't another way except _that_ to stop Natsu without Lucy's interference."

"Her appearance was just a coincidence."Dante argued. "And she didn't stop him."

"She did." Loki said, a distant look on his face. "A second later and he would have lost to the guilt and let the power consume him."

"It's her fault he was feeling guilty in the first place. Faking her death like that!" Gray snapped, an anger he didn't know was there, raising its head. He looked just as surprised as Loki for the way he said it and even Dante looked at him oddly.

But he couldn't deny that everyone felt a little bit similar. Lucy let herself be killed in front of them, made them think she was dead and let Natsu take the blame for her death. She had switched with Gemini seconds before her fall, where Loki had jumped in to catch her. And it was Gemini that Natsu had held that day, thinking she was dead. He almost died under that guilt! Then she had the audacity to come in his time of need, save him and then disappear all over again.

The two men sensed his thoughts and let him wallow, afraid to touch that weight he was forcing to stay buried.

"So she's not here?" Dante turned to the lion spirit. Loki gave him that look that everybody knew meant that he wasn't going to tell them.

"No." Loki admitted. "I was hoping to send you on a goose chase but you dragged me all the way here as well."

"You could just go back to the spirit world." Gray suggested, trying but failing to take the bite out of his voice. He couldn't help it. He'd been sitting in his brain for the last three weeks trying to make sense of everything. But he couldn't while they were missing one great big piece of the puzzle who refused to let anybody know where she was.

"Wait." Dante interrupted. "She's not there is she?"

"The spirit world?" Loki responded as if the idea had never occurred to him. "No. But even if she was-"

"You wouldn't betray her like that, right?" A deep voice said behind them.

Damien stood in the doorway with Rose by his side. His eyes rose straight across from the conversation he interrupted and landed on the blue little figure on the bar. She gulped and made the effort to turn her gaze away and pretended he hadn't noticed her.

"Emi!" He yelled making the girl flinch.

"Um," She turned around, busted. "Welcome back?"

"Why are you up?" He growled, moving over to her. She tugged her shirt down even though the bandages couldn't be seen. "You were shot in the back three weeks ago!"

"You were shot!" Loki's voice crossed the room. He rushed over to Emi and wrapped his arms around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze that was careful not to hurt her. "My beautiful mademoiselle! How could you let this happen to such a beautiful maiden?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Gray snapped. "I did just stand there and go _'Hey look, Emi's gonna get shot. Oh well'._" Gray mocked a shrug and glared back at his friend.

"Well..." Loki shifted his eyes.

"Don't say it like you expect that of me!" He roared, storming over to the laughing little girl. "It's not funny!"

"It is." She wheezed, lifting her finger and thumb. "Just a little bit." She winced and clutched her side as her laugh pulled at her back muscles. A cold shiver ran down her spine and she gulped.

Damien stood behind her, lifted her up into his arms with care and dragged her off through the room with her squeals and demands dying behind the bar door. A few chuckles went through the room but they died quickly as silence befell them all. Dante shook his head and turned to walk out.

"Wait." Gray called out, catching his attention.

Dante stopped and looked back to the ice mage.

"What was the debt you owed?" Gray recalled the debt he'd told them about in the jail cell, and the expression on his face when he found out Lucy was alive. He was missing something and if Dante could fill in one of the puzzles plaguing his mind, he'd be momentarily grateful before being reminded of the heartless guy Dante was. Despite Loki's logic, he wasn't ready to forgive him.

Dante went quiet for a long time, thoughtful. When he finally turned to talk, his listeners went from just Gray to the entire room. Everybody knew the story and he wasn't the only one curious.

"Lucy told me about Enrique's plans to hurt Emi." His face flashed a flicker of guilt for a moment. Dante -despite his coldness- seemed to care about his nephew, but even more so, doted on his niece. Hearing about her getting shot must have been a real blow. "At the time, I didn't know she was undercover and she risked everything to tell me. Had I been loyal to my brother and found out she was a spy, I would have killed her there and then."A small smile, if it could be counted as a smile, appeared on Dante's face. "I can't tell if she was stupid or brave."

That explained the kidnapping attempt on Emi, he wanted her out of Enrique's way too and apparently didn't trust a group of wizards to look after her -though he proved that again the very next day after the ball by arresting them.

Gray nodded accepting his explanation before he moved onto another big puzzle as Rose flew over the bar. Her eyes narrowed to the other corner of the room where she glared at the black tape covering the empty window frame. Apparently Dante had destroyed the window in rage at seeing the small hole the bullet had carved in it. "I need to get that replaced." She grumbled, picking up a wine glass and filling it.

The door creaked with Dante's exit and some guild members snapped their head towards it before looking away. Gray looked up to the lilac haired girl, dressed in her long boots, dark jeans and cowboy hat. She filled up a two glasses of red wine before taking a big swallow from one and leaned against the counter.

Footsteps resounded on the stairs and she lifted the other glass in her hand and held it out. Damien opened the door and leapt over the bar, lifting the glass out of his wife's hand and downing it in one go.

"So I heard your father's well." Gray said, catching Damien's glare. His green eyes were fired up with irritation.

"Considering he was never poisoned to begin with,"Damien hissed. "I'd say he's pretty damn chipper." He pulled the wine out from under the bar and filled his glass to the rim. He looked between the glass and the bottle before sliding the glass to Rose and tipped the bottle to his mouth.

"He still let Lucy shoot an arrow into his back just to keep her spy status undercover." Gray countered, but Damien was too royally mad to be logical.

"Oh yeah," He said, voice laced with sarcasm. "that went well for her."

True, the real Octova head had known she was a spy all along but the fact Enrique believed she'd killed his eldest brother went a long way. Though, Fairy Tail's interference once again disrupted the Magic Council's plans more than once. Not to mention when the council was going to arrest him during their speech and Natsu ended messing that up and leaving the council to crowd control. They weren't pleased but they were at least satisfied with Enrique's arrest. Though it wasn't the same for Fairy Tail when they found out that it was the Magic Council's idea to fake Lucy's death so Enrique wouldn't come after her anymore and she could sneak around freely. She was supposed to be ambushed by Enrique's men and fall on her own- another plan Natsu had scrambled.

Well, after the Magic Council pretended to kill off the Octova head and let Enrique do as he pleased to gain evidence against him, their whole conspiracy was revealed in the weeks after Enrique's arrest. They had even approached Gildarts to help along with the guild (Figuring that Fairy Tail was involved whether they wanted them or not) which explained why he didn't go with them to ambush Enrique. They weren't too pleased when Gildarts had mentioned that on a side comment.

Now the strongest Fairy Tail wizard stood as a guard dog at Natsu's beside, letting Master take the grunt work with the Magic council as punishment for sanctioning the job and allowing Lucy to risk her life in such away. Though, Gray really didn't expect him to go and destroy the Guild building because he was mad. Then again, he was the one who took the brunt of Natsu's break down after he thought he'd killed Lucy.

Everything had been revealed except one last thing.

Where was Lucy?

Gray was so lost in organising his thoughts that he didn't hear the door open until it bounced off the wall. He turned so fast the flimsy stool cracked and the patched up leg fell off again. He leapt to his feet as it collapsed and stared down at the little blue cat panting in the doorway.

"He's awake!"

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_Chapter Sixteen: Never Let You Go_

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**If you liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	16. Never Let You Go

**Sorry it's taken me so long to upload this last chapter. I was supposed to upload on Thursday morning but unfortunately I had to go do my Duke of Edinbrough Gold award practise weekend ( four days in the country covering 70Km with 11 stone bags on our backs. Fun (sarcasm)). By any way...**

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**WARNING: FINAL CHAPTER!**

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Never Let Go  
Chapter Sixteen: Never Let You Go

**NATSU**

Everything hurt. Which, in all honesty, was the only real damage he was left with after the long list he was read; six burst organs,, seventy-eight broken bones including all his ribs, one punctured and one collapsed lung, severe blood loss, knife wound and haemorrhage in his stomach, complete exhaustion, dehydration, intense hunger and the temporary stopping of his heart. (Whatever all that meant)

Saying it was bad would have been an understatement. Not to mention he had to be put in a medicine-induced coma for two weeks so his body could cope with the shock. It took him a further week to wake up. Three weeks later, he was up and about.

He wished he could say he was met with hugs and food, but he couldn't.

Gildarts had been a big angry figure looming over him the second he woke. He was furious at the fact Natsu had let himself loose control so far, and he was mad over how much he had made him panic. He had been the first one to get to him and was the one to go run and kidnap Wendy without explanation and drag her to Natsu's side. Not to mention all the training he promised to do once they were back... he'd have to find a way out of that- hopefully he could make Gray do it instead.

Though through it all, Natsu's first question had still been the thing he'd been thinking the past two years. "Where's Lucy?"

When it took them a long time to respond, Natsu's instant reaction had been to assume that it really was a dream. He'd seen Lucy standing over him, she'd save him... to think that it wasn't true was a huge blow.

Gildarts had read him first and told him the truth. He didn't deny that it hurt a little to realise Lucy hadn't revealed herself to them. They say she disappeared but hiding was more accurate. Lucy was around. He couldn't say it was because he could smell her or anything, not with the medicine dulling his dragon slayer sense. Even so, something was telling him she was nearby.

Natsu looked up at the ceiling of the room he was forced to rest in. It wasn't all that interesting and Natsu was bored. It was dark outside and all his visitors -a.k.a. the entire guild- had visited him with the added secret visit of Dante.

He didn't explained why Gray was furious to find out Dante had visited, grumbling to himself for a while, but in the end asked questions about Lucy he couldn't answer. With no answers, he'd shrugged and left. Mysterious as always.

Gray had also told him about what the Magic Council had been 'plotting' -Gray's word, not his. Which meant the grey-eyed guy who'd helped him find Lucy on the day of the festival had been a Council member.

He was also happy to see Emi fending off Damien's offered wheelchair.

Natsu chuckled, thinking about how somehow, everybody he cared about was safe. He looked out the window into the navy blue sky, light stars twinkling. Something pulled him towards it as he ignored the ache of his muscles.

"Going somewhere?" A voice said behind him. Loki stepped from the shadows with a small grin on his face.

"L-" Natsu went to speak but Loki quickly pressed a finger to his lips.

"_I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance._" Natsu whispered.

"_I've been sorting some things out." _He explained with a shrug.

"_You'll have to tell me about it later." _Natsu gestured his head to the ceiling. _"I've got to sort something out myself."_

A huge grin broke out along Loki's face.

Natsu didn't wait. He turned his back and opened the window with as little noise as possible, knowing Loki was long gone. A cold breeze ran over his skin and he shivered.

After exhausting his magic, he had been feeling cold for the past week he'd been awake. He slipped from the window where a small ledge sat outside. Using the ledge, he pushed his body up and peered at the roof. He grinned and lifted himself up with silence. His muscles pained in response and threatened to give way before he managed to even get his knees on the tiles.

He moved like a tiger stalking its prey as he crept up without a sound behind her back. His hands reached forwards over her shoulders and his head leaned close into her ear. "Boo."

She let out a sharp scream, turning around with a knife in her hand. He ducked just quick enough to miss it.

"Natsu!" Lucy gasped in realization before she lost her balance and slipped. Natsu's arms went around her waist in a second, pulling her back with enough force to bruise another rib as she crashed into his chest.

His heart raced a mile a minute as he crushed her against him. "I've got you." He whispered, his words a rushed breath as he tried to cope with the Adrenalin rushing through his veins. He fought back the memories flashing through his mind, telling himself over and over that it didn't matter anymore. He moved his hands along her back, assuring himself she was there. "I've got you." He breathed. "I've got you." His head dropped onto her shoulder as his arms relaxing enough so she wasn't locked in a vice grip.

She wriggled and tried to push away from him. Although Natsu was now holding onto her so she had enough room to move, it didn't mean she could get away from him. "Natsu, get off me." She argued. "Let. Me. Go."

His body stiffened and she gasped in realisation of the three words Natsu never want to hear ever again.

Natsu's arms gripped her tighter again so she couldn't move again him, and gave a small growl of warning. "No."

"Natsu, please..." Lucy whimpered, still trying to wriggle free. Her hands were cold against his skin. How many days and nights sat out here did she have to sit through to make her hands so cold? Natsu chuckled and squeezed, making Lucy whimper.

"Nope." He said. "I will never ever ever ever ever ever let you go... Ever."

Lucy went quiet for a long moment and as Natsu bathed in her scent, he almost missed her words.

"Why?" She whispered.

"What?" Natsu turned his face to hers. They sat on the roof spine, her knees bent under his, her face leaned against his shoulder. Her eyes were downcast and away, refusing to meet his.

Suddenly her struggle increased, near breaking through his hold but he still didn't give up. He held onto her like it was his life line. "WHY?" She cried. "I hurt you. I made you hurt so much. I made you think you killed me. You got lost so much control you almost _died_...all because of me." Her body fell into a slump against him, her hands tightening around the material of his shoulder. Natsu smelt the salt of her tears without having to look. Natsu looked up at the dark sky and then back down to the blonde girl curled against him. For someone who was trying to get away, she was holding onto him as if her life depended on it... Natsu smiled, removing one of his arms to pull his silk scarf free.

He slipped it around her neck, causing her face to turn up to his. He watched his hands rest the scarf on her shoulders before wrapping back around her waist. He looked down on her tear stained face and couldn't help but smile.

His hand reached up and brushed away her tears, his expression gentle at her desperation. Her eyes caught his and guilt swelled between them. She turned back around and looked down, her hands still held to his vest.

"Lucy," Natsu coaxed. "Look at me."

"No."

"Lucy."

She shook her head and Natsu gave a sigh. His fingers cupped around her chin and turned her to him by force. She went to open her mouth in process, but never got the chance to use it.

Natsu's mouth pressed against hers making her gasp. He didn't mean to kiss her, but as his moved his lips over hers, his hands tangling around the back of her neck and her hair as he pressed her against him, it just felt right. She kissed him back and Natsu couldn't help but smile against her lips.

"Luce." He whispered pulling back from her. "I love you."

Lucy's big eyes looked at his, her lips pink and puffy from the kiss. She searched his face with confusion and disbelief.

"I love you." He repeated, just to reassure her.

Her big eyes opened wide, her mouth dropping open. Natsu took it as an opportunity and leaned forwards giving it a gentle kiss. When he pulled up he saw Lucy's eyes flutter as if in a daze.

"You love me?" She whispered.

He kissed her again. "I love you."

"Oh." She uttered, her hands reaching up to touch her even pinker lips. A blush spread across her face, the delayed embarrassment hitting her.

He leaned forwards but she quickly ducked back, her eyes narrowing on him. "You're not Natsu." She growled.

Natsu took his turn to look confused. "Um, what?"

"Natsu wouldn't do...that."Her body leaned forwards towards his but Natsu figured she didn't realise she was doing it. He grinned.

"It's been two years, Luce." She gasped in realisation and Natsu took his chance and kissed her again.

This time Lucy kissed back straight away, her arms going around his neck. "And..." He whispered, breathless as he looked back down at her cute pink cheeks.

"And?" She huffed, her eyes lit with attraction. Natsu raised his eye brow and Lucy's mouth made that little 'o' of realisation before she turned beat red.

She looked straight up into his dark eyes, her voice barely a whisper. "I love you."

_ Ba-bump_.

Natsu expected her to look away and say it all shy but her boldness surprised him. He felt heat rise into his cheeks and quickly raised his hand to his face.

Why did he have to go get all embarrassed?

He peeked through his fingers and saw Lucy's devious grin. "I love you." She whispered.

_Ba-bump_. Natsu's heart skipped another beat, and his blush deepen.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." She repeated over and over, trying to pry his hands away from his face.

"Stop it!" Natsu whined.

"Don't be such a baby."

Natsu's hands dropped in an instant as he met Lucy's gaze. She flinched at the intensity. "What?" She asked.

Natsu smiled, crushing her against his chest. "Nothing." Natsu grinned, snuggling into her neck. His premonition fluttering through his head again. "Not yet anyway."

He pulled back and she looked up at him confused. He leaned forward and kissed her again.

He just couldn't resist.

…

**LUCY**

So much had changed yet nothing was different. Lucy felt the familiar salt winds sweep through her hair. The sounds of the waves crashing against the stones below were like a childhood lullaby.

All in all, it was comforting.

Not to mention Natsu couldn't find her.

He had barged into her room after two years of dust had collected. If they were going to keep paying the rent they could have at least kept it clean.

She she shook her head. She couldn't be harsh on them, in fact, she'd grown rather soft in the last two years.

They've done more for her than they ever should have. They were supposed to feel betrayed, angry that she'd lied to them and done a job alone without the team. She wasn't sure to feel guilty or happy. They'd welcomed her back with big arms, some being more attached than others -Mira and Levy had refused to let her go when she came back and forced to have a sleep over at her place. Though it was troublesome when they all fought over who slept in the bed.

Of course, when she woke up, she realised it was Natsu who'd won over them all which triggered all sorts of questions.

Lucy sighed, dropping down to sit and run her hands through her hair.

It all made her a little uncomfortable and even a tad guilty. It wasn't like she wanted them to hate her, she was quite relieved when she found out they didn't. After that day Natsu came after her two years ago, she was so afraid she'd never see them again. They always clamped down when she asked about the two years after that. She didn't have to guess much.

She sighed again.

"You're beginning to sound like an old man."

She turned just to see Gray drop down beside her -shirtless. She gave an inward chuckle but was surprised to see him. Gray hadn't really talked to her since they all returned a few weeks ago.

She had tried to find excuses not to go back, and hung out at the magic council for a while until the guild almost bust down their doors thinking they'd kidnapped her. _Honestly..._

"Just a little strange being back." Lucy shrugged.

Gray nodded.

They didn't say anything for a while until Lucy finally found her courage. "Are you mad?"

Gray let out a drawn out sigh.

She was right.

He hated her.

"No." He said, much to her surprise. "I want to be." He growled, shaking his head. "But somehow I just can't. When I think about everything you've done it, hurting Natsu, faking your death, hurting Natsu again, and then disappearing for four weeks until Natsu had to use force to drag you back... it all makes me mad but-" He turned to look up at her. "When I look at you, back here, surrounded by everybody, I just can't stay mad."

Lucy felt her eyes swell but wiped them away quickly, blaming it on the wind.

A weight on her hand turned her back to the ice mage, who with a shy smile said, "Welcome home, Luce."

It was too much. Her eyes spilled with tears and Gray stiffened. "Why are you crying?" He yelped.

"It's just-" She hiccuped. "Just so-"

Her words were cut off with a roar and a flash of pink. Natsu tackled Gray to the ground the pair rolled in a rough pile with kicking and punching, rolling dangerously close to the edge.

"You made Lucy cry, Ice-princess!" Natsu growled, pulling at Gray's hair.

Gray gave out a growl and pulled Natsu's hair in return. "I didn't mean to, matchstick!"

They continued to brawl and Lucy just gave a small shrug and sighed as a small figure walked towards her.

"They ruined the moment, right?" Emi chuckled as she came to her side.

"Yep." Lucy wiped her eyes on the back of the hand, swinging her arm over the girl's narrow shoulders. Emi wrapped her hand around her waist and they turned walking back to the guild.

"I'm going to have to find a new hiding spot." Lucy grumbled, but she couldn't hide the grin on her face. She knew she wasn't going to change it. People were idiots if they didn't think she knew Natsu had long since known about her retreat.

A yelp behind them caused the girls to turn around. The cliff was clear.

"They fell off!" Emi gasped.

Of course they did.

Lucy sighed.

"Is it okay not to help them?" Emi asked, looking over her shoulder in concern.

"Completely okay." Lucy said with a reaffirming nod.

"Lucy." Emi said, making Lucy look down at her. Emi smiled. "Welcome home."

"Yeah." Lucy returned her smile, gratitude swelling in her chest. She'd never be able to pay that girl back for what she'd done. After two long years she could finally say it again and there was nothing like the joy it brought...

"I'm home."

…

**THE END**

* * *

Upcoming: Epilogue: _People Change..._

_Natsu deals with trying to control his new found powers while Lucy tries to deal with her guilt over the past two years, but will they truly be able to deal with the changed people they have become? Or will it be that too much has changed? _

* * *

**Wow...It's really the end ( TT^TT ) How sad. I really loved writing this story, almost as much as I did with _Shadows_ perhaps even more. I will admit, I did shed a few tears writing bits of it myself. But fortunately, I can look forward to writing _What Matters Most... _And hopefully complete it soon so you guys can have Damien's epilogue/prequel. I seem to have made a habit of writing epilogues or extra stories of my OC. Not to mention you also get clues into the mysterious Dante as well (I loved his character).**

**I want to give everyone who has reviewed, Favorited and followed this story my appreciation because I love reading your reviews and opinions, and it motivates me to write more. So keep it up and I'll make sure to keep up my end of the bargain.**

**Anyway, I hope to get some more stories out soon, so make sure to keep in touch.**

**~A-ccentric :3**


	17. Epilogue: People Change: Lucy

**This was a requested epilogue for you guys, aside from Damien's story so I hope you enjoy it :) (Btw, I have drawn a black and white copy of Damien Octova and uploaded it to Deviantart, if you wanna check it out on my deviantart account (which is on my profile page) And hopefully I'll get around doing a colour version soon) **Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

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Never Let Go  
Epilogue: People Change  
Part A: Lucy

**NATSU**

"LUCY!" Natsu wailed, sailing into her room from the open window and diving straight on top of-

Her empty bed.

"Lucy?" Natsu called out into the darkness of her room. It was just over dawn and the emptiness echoed like ripples on a water's surface. It was like they were a piece of colour on a black and white canvas, warm and out of place in a room so cold. A small layer of dust was beginning to settle over the furniture. There was barely even a lingering scent. Lucy hadn't been here in a while.

"Where's Lucy?" Happy whispered, unable to hide that anxious tremble to his voice. "You don't think she's-"

"NO." Natsu snapped, surprised at the force of his voice. He sent sympathetic eyes to his friend. "She's been coming to the guild every day since she's come back. She won't do that again."

_'That'_ being leaving.

It wasn't that Natsu was scared to say it, however recalling the bad memories still tugged on that knot in his heart. He thought that in finding her, the knot would go. But it never did. It was a little looser, but at times like these, it tugged and reminded him it wasn't quite gone. "Let's head up to the guild; she'll be there." Natsu advised, jumping back up to the window ledge. With one last glance back at the untouched room, he dropped into the streets. ...

** LUCY**

"Oh my God, that's gross!" Lucy choked, slamming the glass straight down onto the bar.

Her hand covered her mouth as she tried to suppress the gagging and pushed the amber drink away from her.

Mira laughed, reaching for the glass to take it away when a second hand reached down and snatched it from her.

Natsu chugged the glass down in one, his lips pressing to the same exact spot Lucy had used. His body half leaned over her's, his hot chest pressing into her shoulder. The crisp scent of char filled her nose, dabbled with a hint of sweat and the rise and fall of his chest was subtly beginning to slow. He'd been running.

With a gasp, he slammed the drink down and slapped his lips. "Fire whiskey?" Natsu guessed before raising an eyebrow in Lucy's direction.

Lucy looked down at the bar, her fingers interlinking with each other as she tried to ignore the fact Natsu still hadn't moved. He adjusted his stance just a little so his chest was near flush against her back. His head leaned over her shoulder, pink hair flopping over to one side. Black eyes studied her face with an intensity that made her blush.

"Just thought about trying something new." Lucy shrugged and felt her shoulder brush against all of Natsu's long abs. "I don't get how you guys can drink that stuff."

"It comes with age." Natsu chuckled, the vibrations rolling straight into her. "I'm older now."

Lucy couldn't not notice. He had grown so much taller in the two years that he was almost a good foot taller than her. His hair was longer and he always complained but still put off getting it cut. His muscles and face were sharper, more defined and strong. He'd gone from a boy to a man- a fact Lucy was struggling to accommodate.

Mira-Jane refilled the glass the pair shared and Natsu drank another hit, purring as the hot drink went down his throat, his body heat throbbing at the spike in warmth.

Lucy shivered despite being far from cold.

Natsu leaned over her again to set the glass back down, and took a lasting gaze at her through his pink fringe, his face inches from hers.

"I went to your apartment today." His eyes quizzed her. Lucy gulped, knowing exactly what he would have seen; the same scene she'd seen for months.

Lucy cast her gaze away, unable to bear the weight of Natsu's concern. "When was the last time you went to your apartment, Luce?" "A while?" Lucy mumbled, stupidly trying to create a veil of hair between them as she let her long blonde hair slide across her face.

Natsu sighed and with the gentlest of touches, reached up and tucked the hair behind her ears. "How long?" He asked, this time focusing his gaze on pushing all the stray strands of hair behind her ear.

When had Natsu become this observant? So adult-like? So intense?

In the two years Lucy had abandoned him- that's when.

During the time she'd left them for a mission. A mission she had worked on for two years. She had become strong, goddamit. And here she was, a weak, helpless girl in the face of the man she loathed for the guilt she felt and loved for the feelings she couldn't deny.

"A while, okay?" Lucy snapped, pushing out of the bar stool and away from Natsu.

Natsu stood straight, his eyes sharp and brows furred as he stared at her.

He wasn't the only one. The guild had fallen quiet, their eyes all on her. A mix of sympathy, confusion and surprise - the emotions she could handle. But the pity she saw in them, it was that emotion that she couldn't stand.

Ever since she'd come back, they had all been walking on egg shells around her. Conversations that had once been easy with friends were now awkward and tense. Parties and jokes that once were a blast of carelessness were now stiff with caution around her. And jobs her team worked together on, now felt like she was alone on the outside. After being independent for so long, she look forward to that teamwork. But she never got it. If she felt like she couldn't depend on her team, then who could she depend on?

But in the end, she knew it was her who had brought it on herself.

So instead of snapping, or getting angry, or yelling, she just grabbed her bag and left. ...

**NATSU**

Natsu felt his heart ache as Lucy stormed from the guild, pulling his heart along with her. The distance yelled at him to follow her, but his feet couldn't move.

"It's worse than we thought." Erza said from behind him.

Natsu's eyes were pinned on the door. "She hasn't been to her apartment." Natsu replied, forcing himself to look away and sit at the bar.

Mira reached to grab a new glass to refill his drink but Natsu stopped her. "This one's fine."

Mira nodded, filling the glass with fire whiskey and then a little bit extra. Natsu took a swig and set it down again.

At that point, Gray, Wendy, Happy and Carla chose to gather round the bar.

"How long do you think she'll act out like this for?" Gray asked. "It's already been three months."

"I dunno." Natsu grumbled.

"You're supposed to be the boyfriend." Gray retorted, making Natsu snap to attention.

A low warning growl broke through his voice, his eyes flickering with red. "Now's not the time for training Gray."

Training - provoking Natsu in order to force him to control his powers so his dragon force doesn't break out again and make him go berserk. _'Once the seal is broken, it is forever unsealed'_ \- in Dante's words.

"I need to make sure you won't go outta control like before and considering Lucy is your biggest trigger, it's the perfect time."

Natsu growled in response, but otherwise didn't argue. He knew the importance of keeping himself in check, but asking for calm was near impossible whenever Lucy was concerned. Whether it was excitement or anger or concern, Lucy brought out a range of emotions from within him and calm was one of the rarest of them all.

"What're we going to do?"

Natsu sighed. "Well, I don't know what the rest of you are going to do," He pulled the glass to his lips and drew the rest of the liquid into his mouth before setting the glass down. "But enough's enough. I'm going to find Lucy."

And with that, he slid from his seat, bidding goodbye with a wave of his hand. There was no question whether he could find her or not. Natsu never forgot her scent.

**LUCY**

Lucy wandered through the busy streets of Magnolia city, a mix of familiarity and surprise taking phases to pass through her. She had underestimated how much can change in a mere two years. How the little stall on the market had upgraded to having its own shop. How the bar next to the dress shop had shut down. And how people she once always saw weren't there anymore.

Even the canal boat drivers sailed passed without a blink in her direction.

They didn't recognize her anymore.

And it was the thought that came next that had plagued her for months. The thought that kept her from home. The thought that kept everyone at arms length. The though she couldn't admit even to herself.

Even to those she loved...

Natsu's face streaked through her heart in a ribbon of knots and knives. She clutched her hand to her chest, the material of her shirt tightening between her fingers.

Her stress wasn't helped by the fact Natsu turned out to be a touchy feel boyfriend. Whether it was a graze here or there, holding her hand whenever the chance arose or a little kiss to catch her off guard, Natsu was always touching her.

A smile gave her heart that little bit of freedom to expand before it contracted back into that black pip again. She was blessed to have Natsu, but at the same time, she was cursed.

Her mind shook free just as the dark thoughts were beginning to delve in, a gust of wind blowing her long blonde hair into her face.

She fought with it to push it down, spitting it out of her mouth and pulling it out of her eyes as the wind settled. The gold strands were a remainder of her last two years, having grown out her hair because Enrique liked it that way. Shed meant to cut it, but going back to her old style felt wrong.

Maybe it was a calling or fate or only a coincidence, but the sight in front of her eyes was it.

So just like the drinks.

Just like staying elsewhere.

She opened the door and heard the bell ring.

Just like trying something new.

The ocean grime licked her face with salty winds as she leaned into its force. Sprays of water and dissolved limestone licked the exposed inches of her toes in sandals.

It was supposed to be bitter this time of year, but at the moment, the heat was almost stifling.

Natsu was mad.

She felt the fury roll off him in waves down her back from his silent perch on a rock at least ten meters back. It had been that way for the whole half an hour he had sat there.

And her?

She was eerily calm. Even with an unstable dragon slayer that could go berserk with the snap of a finger, she wasn't even concerned. She was just numb.

She waited another five minutes before she took a long deep breath and turned. She walked away from the edge and without missing a beat, strode straight past the dragon slayer clawing holes into his knees.

He leapt from his seat, turned and took only give paces to catch up to her before he stopped.

"What the hell, Luce?" Natsu snapped, forcing her feet to stop.

She reached up, her back facing away from him and caught a short strand of black hair between her fingertips. "Don't you like it?"

"That's not what I meant." He growled, his voice such a deep threatening baritone she hadn't heard before.

Something else new.

And just like that, her secret frustrations bubbled over. "Then what do you mean, Natsu?" Lucy snapped, whirling on him. "Why do you have such a problem with me trying something new?"

"I don't but this is too much. When is_ 'trying something new'_ going to be enough for you?" Natsu yelled back.

"Enough? I've barely done anything!" Lucy was well aware the two of them were shouting at the tops of their voices but she couldn't bring herself care. "Why are you so against it?"

"Because it won't just end at new drinks or a new hair cut or a new pair of boots, Lucy!"

Lucy swore she saw Natsu's eyes flicker with red.

"Why do you need to keep doing all this?" Natsu demanded.

"Because I need to be new!"

"I don't want a 'new' Lucy!"

"This isn't about you!" Lucy screeched. "This is about me! I'm the one whose stuck in the in-between. I'm the one out of place. I'm the one who doesn't belong anymore!"

Natsu went quiet. His fingers clenched tight into fists, nails burying into his skin as his eyes narrowed on her face.

Tears were already pouring down Lucy's face, and just like her mouth, she couldn't get them to stop. Her chest was being torn open from the inside and he r heart was pouring open. "All this time, you've all changed. I don't know where I fit in anymore. You don't need me. Don't want me. I'm not the old Lucy and no one has need for the me now and it's all my fault."

And that was the truth of what she felt.

_Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt, guilty._

Every change she saw, every change she regretted missing, every moment of regret she knew was the result of her own actions.

Eventually, she had realised the changes weren't as big as she had first thought, and yet the divide between her friends, her team mates and guild mates, seemed cavernous.

Then she realised something that had changed her perspective permanently.

It was the thought that haunted her.

It wasn't them who had created that gap. It was her. She was the one who had changed. Changed in a way so different from everyone else that she feared she could no longer belong together like the rest of them.

She was stuck in the in between.

Stuck on the outside.

All alone.

"You don't understand." She whispered. Weakness stole her strength as her knees gave way beneath her, dropping into a sobbing pile at Natsu's feet, her face buried into her hands.

For a long while, there was only the sounds of Lucy's crying and the hollowing wind as Natsu never moved.

When Natsu eventually did speak, his voice was incredulous. "Don't understand?" Natsu scoffed. "I understand everything."

"No, Natsu." Lucy whispered between her hands. "You don't."

"Look at me, Lucy."

"No."

"Look at me!" Natsu roared startling her to her feet. Lucy gasped as she laid eyes on the slayer. His eyes pulsed between red and black, his skin rippling with a shimmer of scales that faded back into skin only to shimmer again. Canines were half elongated and claws were short but sharp as Natsu took long deep breaths in through his nose, out through his mouth.

"Natsu...?"

"I'm the monster, Lucy." Natsu said, as if it was as simple as fact, his voice resonating resignation that tore into her heart deeper than she even knew it went. "The way everyone is afraid to touch me without hesitation like before? The way they're too scared to put their jokes for the fear I'll go berserk? They don't even fight with me the same way they used to! You think I don't know all these feelings?"

Lucy could see the red heating up in his eyes and the contortions of pain on his face went miles to explain the difficulty to suppress the dragon inside.

"Even I'm scared to get mad. Scared that holding back will be too hard. Too much. Scared that one day I'll just give up."

"Nat-"

"Let me finish." Natsu ordered, his voice stern buy gentle.

She stared as the heat radiating from him began to cool and his skin began to steady, his canines and claws withdrew and his eyes calmed to their royal cobalt black. "I think of you Luce. That's how I realise I can cope with it all. Because my beautiful best friend was strong enough to do it all on her own and yet even she still needs me. You still need me. You may not admit it, but you do, you need me. And I need you too, Luce. I don't need this 'new' you're looking for. And people change, it happens no matter what." Natsu shrugged. He stepped forwards, his pained eyes locked into hers as his warm hands held her damp cheeks, brushing away a tear with a calloused thumb. "The one thing that keeps me holding on, the one thing that stops me from giving up; it's you, Luce. That's why I wake up in the morning. For a future we can change through together. Like always. Forever."

Lucy tears fell for an entirely different reason, and there was no words to answer any of what she had just received, of what meant the world to her. Natsu accepted her, the current her, the past her, and the potential for the future her. And she hadn't even known that it was exactly why at she was looking for until now. And there was no words for what he did that she could repay him with.

So she did the only thing she could do.

She flung her arms around his chest and held tight to the one thing she must never ever let go of. "I love you, Natsu." She whispered.

Natsu's arms came around her back and held tight. "We'll do this together, Luce."

"Yeah, together." Lucy whispered.

Together for a lifetime.

Together always.

The one thing that would never change.

* * *

**I was asked by a "guest" (unfortunately, with no name :( ('Thanks' to whomever that was)) to write an epilogue, and at the time, I thought_ 'what the hell'_ and gave it a go. This is only the first part, and I hope to do a second part soon which focuses on Natsu this time, and who knows? Maybe I'll also write an epilogue for a few of the other characters whilst in between writing the prequel of Enrique and Damien's story, which is half-done already. If you guys want me to continue, let me know -no point writing more if no one is interested, so yeah, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you all look forward to more :)**

**If y****ou liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	18. Epilogue: People Change: Lucy 2

**Was just about to start Natsu's epilogue when an Extra part of Lucy's popped up, so here, just to finish it off for Lucy before I start with Natsu. Hope you enjoy :)**

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Epilogue: People Change  
Part A.2: Lucy

**NATSU**

Natsu took, for what must have been the first time since Lucy came back, the stairs. When Lucy had left, he'd once tried to come up the stairs, wondering- hoping, there would be her lingering scent. But only the scent of varnished wood had met him.

Now Lucy's scent was akin to sunlight to him, a bright light keeping away the depressive darkness that tried to chew away at him. If Lucy ever tried to leave...

"Natsu." Lucy whispered, the hesitation in her voice drawing him away from the dark tunnel his thoughts were heading through. He was just shy of the top of the stairs and turned to see Lucy stopped midway.

Her eyes held still on Natsu's face, her expression wavering. "Come on, Luce." Natsu grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her up before she had chance to resist. He pulled her up onto the landing and stopped in front of her door.

Without missing a beat, Natsu reached down and grabbed the key from the little crack in the floorboards she always hid it in. "So you know where the key is and still insist on going through the window." Lucy grumbled under her breath to which Natsu only shrugged.

He turned the key with a flick of a wrist, turned the handle and just when he was about to push the door open, he was stopped. Lucy's hand shot out and grabbed his wrist in a grip so tight, the colour in her knuckles bled away. "Luce?" Natsu said, turning to look at her, his hand still gripping the door handle.

"I just-" Lucy shook her head, letting go and taking a step back. "Give me a minute."

Natsu nodded and let his hand slip away from the door. He turned to face her, watching her keen eyes stare at the door for as long as she could bare before flickering away. A moment later she did the same thing, again and again for what felt like a long time but was only a minute. "Lu-"

"I won't fit." Lucy blurted, the nervous pitch of her voice unfamiliar to Natsu.

Natsu's eyebrow crooked in her direction, looking between her and the doorway. "You'll fit." He said.

Lucy looked confused for a moment before she caught what he meant. "I didn't mean like that!" She snapped, her hands unconsciously soothing her curved waistline as if it would make her slimmer. Natsu narrowed his eyes at the movement. He didn't think there was a hair out of place on Lucy, he didn't want her slimmer. Especially not with that large-

Heat exploded across the side of Natsu's face with a surprised yelp. He didn't realise his gaze had slipped a little too high but apparently, Lucy did. Her brown eyes sparked with irritation and her mouth opened to speak just as Natsu slid his favourite card from up his sleeve. His eyes glossed and his lips pouted. "You hit me!" He whimpered, adding just the right amount of whine to his tone.

Lucy's mouth hesitated before snapping shut. The shimmering fire in her face began to simmer and with a huge huff she relaxed. She did add a final scowl in his direction, knowing he wasn't going to get away with what he did, but like in many of their silence conversations, she let it go.

But all too soon, Natsu regretted calming her down. Her nervousness struck his heart again as her hands began to fiddle with her back strap, hiking it higher and lower and higher again over her shoulder. "What do you mean you won't fit if not...?" His hands gestured to her, earning himself a spunky scowl again. He hid his grin.

She sighed at the door. "This apartment...it belong to the old Lucy, it grew along with her. With me now..." She sighed again. "I feel like this place is paused, waiting for her to come back. Not...this." She gestured to her body. Indeed, her old burst of colours had been toned into darker colours, the old frill of her clothes and femininity fading into simple and useful. Lucy was a lot more efficient than she used to be.

Natsu could see Lucy was stuck at the same impasse as she was with him and the rest of her teammates. She was a stubborn one, and he doubted shouting at each other like before would solve this problem. It wasn't like she'd give up that clinging feeling of being out of place so easily, those kind of feelings took time to break down. But slow and steady wasn't really Natsu's forte.

Hard and fast was though.

**LUCY**

"OH NO!" Natsu yelped, springing to his feet and bursting through the apartment door in a split second. It took Lucy by so much surprise that it took her a bit longer than a second in delays before she rushed in after him without a second thought.

"What? What is it?" Lucy rasped, chasing him into the kitchen. The fridge was thrown open, and ever so slowly, Natsu's head rose over the door. His face was chalk white, his eyes bug wide and his jaw slack.

"There's no...food."

Lucy was pretty sure she heard the hard slap of her jaw hitting the floor. No, wait. That was her foot.

Her kitchen fridge had a new indent of Natsu's head from where it had bounded off his face. Lucy lowered her foot to the kitchen floor, disturbing a faint layer of dust that settled again over her shoe. But at that second, she was too furious to care.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, you idiot!" She screeched, oh so tempted to kick the fridge door in his face all over again.

"Luce."

"What?"

"You did it." Natsu grinned with a wide tooth grin, half tainted by the blood pouring from his nose.

"Did what?"

"Come in your apartment."

Her thoughts seem to stutter, half confused while the other side was half under attack from reality. "I- What?"

Natsu didn't say anymore, rolling from off the floor to stagger to his feet. He pulled one of her favourite white towels off her oven and pressed it to his nose, no doubt staining it so bad she would have to throw it away. Blood was a stain that was too much effort to get clean.

Her eyes focused too much on the towel, her thoughts trying to lead her to safety, trying to keep her away from the one thing she had hoped to ignore. But she was stepping on that thought, surrounded by it, touching it.

Her apartment.

The thing layer of dust laid over the soft wood of her floor, over the pink throw over her sheets and her vanity desk. She spotted a disturbed area on the carpet and bed by the window and didn't have to think twice about it. Her feet moved on autodrive as it pulled her towards her jewellery stand, all her old pieces hung up with care, paper still scattered across the desk, suggesting that she should have cleaned up before abandoning the place. It was her mother's letters, she realised after a heartbeat. Or more like the letters to her mother. It was the last thing she remembered doing before getting up and leaving her apartment, only to return now after so many weeks.

She had been reading them, her letters to her as if they were from a different person entirely, someone who didn't know the pain and the heartache she'd been through. The girl who had believed she had felt enough pain to last her a life time. Apparently not. It had all came crashing down on her, a fraction of the feeling wrapping its grips round her now.

She dropped into the chair as the weight of the last two years pressed onto her shoulders.

It had all been so much. Like a punch to the chest that displaced her from where she was, from the life she was trying to settle back into. From the life she felt like she didn't belong to anymore.

Natsu's hands wrapped around her shoulders from behind before she realised. Small little water droplets rolled over his forearms and only then, did she realise she had been crying.

"You may not be that person anymore, Luce." Natsu whispered. "But you're still meant to be here, with us. Not those people you talk about in the letters, not me or Happy, or Erza from two years ago. The us now."

Lucy turned in the chair, with enough speed to surprise him. But as she swung her arms around his shoulders and buried her head into the nape of his neck and shook, he hugged her back without hesitation.

His huge body was like an anchor. Not letting her escape back to the time she had been dislodged from, but keeping her where she was supposed to be, in the here and in the now.

"You might want to redecorate a little bit though...and dust." Natsu murmured seconds before he sneezed. Even so, he didn't let her go. The tears dried and even a hoarse little chuckle made it out of her lips.

Lucy pulled back to see his sweet smile, looking into her eyes with a happy relief. "Thanks, Natsu."

He grinned. "You're welcome, Luce."

She looked around the room, and knew he may have been right. It would take some getting used to, living in the now, the here, cutting her ties to the past she was clinging onto, but if Natsu was by her side she could do it.

Together.

**NATSU**

"Natsu?" Lucy hesitated, catching him by his longer sleeve. He looked down with a confused frown at the vulnerable gesture, his heart swelling with something dominant and protective.

"What's up, Luce?"

"Um, are you...staying?" She asked, her eyes glanced with a hint of nervousness around the apartment.

After a quick tidy of the apartment, they had still only skimmed the surface of the work they needed to do to renew the place.

During cleaning, Lucy had gotten sidetrack more than enough time to end up doubling the load they had to do by dragging out things from everywhere and getting nostalgic. It was better than her avoiding her past like she had been doing, but his legs could have done with the break.

There was also a surprising amount of stuff of his left all over Lucy's apartment. Well surprising to her at least. Over the last year before she left, Natsu had been sneaking stuff into her apartment on nearly every visit because of the amount of time he stayed over here.

"Do you want me to?" Natsu challenged, feeling his shark-tooth grin pull on his cheeks. Lucy's eyes flared in irritation at the question. She was about to say no, and kick him out- he could see it in his eyes- when her mouth snapped shut, and with the most reluctant mumble in the world, she got out a 'Yes'.

Natsu felt as if he had won. Whether or not there was actually some competition, he didn't know, but a win was still a win. "Don't worry, Luce." Natsu laughed as he pounced to his knees. He dived to the floor, tackling Lucy down with him with a squeak of surprise. Her small body pressed beneath is seemed to fit perfectly in the space underneath the bracket of his arms as she looked up at him with one of her rare, unguarded smiles. It filled his heart. "I'm not going anywhere."

At the comment, her eyes seemed to soften, relief filling them. He felt her relax underneath him and he smiled in response.

Just as he did, her face deflated again, her eyebrows furred and her bottom lip worried between her teeth. Her hand reached up, cupping the harsh angle of his jaw with the gentlest of touches, as if he was delicate.

"I just feel like this is all a dream, coming home, being here and smiling." She whispered, as If she was scared to speak too loud and someone would take notice."Like I'll wake up and all those feelings of being back there will swallow me whole. If I were to wake up now, I wouldn't be able to take it anymore."

Lucy's eyes searched his, trying to seek answers from the depths of his onyx pupils. Her words ran around Natsu's mind as he tried to come up with an answer. Apparently, he took one second too long and Lucy eyes began to gloss.

He reached down and brushed a tear away that escaped her eyes, the action too inmate to ignore. He felt his pulse race and Lucy stiffen beneath him as he let his body escape his control.

He leaned down, closing the centimeters between them until her breath run across his lips, a few millimeters of air separating them. Lucy's lashes fluttered from his lips back to his eyes while Natsu's couldn't move from her chocolate orbs, as he resisted the will to move that little bit further. Not yet.

Impatience finally getting the best of her, Lucy moved. Her lips pressed against his with an amount of force that surprised him as she tackle his mouth. The kiss demanded reassurance and safety and most of all, love.

It only took a heartbeat for to Natsu respond. He gave her everything she needed and more without hesitation. Like she was his only purpose on earth. Perhaps she was.

Only when their lungs burned for air did they finally break apart. Lucy's hot breaths matched Natsu's as his answer finally came from his lips. "If it is a dream, then come home. Come home to me and I swear I'll help you. Even if it's a dream me or whatever me, every me will welcome you home, Luce. And no matter what, we'll do it together, Luce."

The tension between them seemed to dissipate into something calm and fluffy, mixing together with the perfect balance of everything.

His explanation seemed to tangle in a few places, but the principle was clear. Together. No matter what. And just like that, his vow was sealed, throughout dimensions, and parallel worlds, if they exist, or even throughout time; together, forever.

"Thank you. Natsu."

Natsu only grinned, sitting back on his haunches and helping her up off the floor.

"Love you, Luce." Natsu said, just as she was beginning to stand. Lucy turned back and saw his face as serious as she'd ever seen it.

The words slipped from her mouth with ease. "I love you too."

* * *

**If y****ou liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

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**-A-ccentric**


	19. Epilogue: People Change: Natsu

**Looks like this epilogue will also be in two parts, but for now, enjoy this chapter and the other chapter will hopefully be out soon .**

Epilogue 2: People Change  
Part 2: Natsu

**NATSU**

Natsu listened to Lucy's soft lulls, waiting for the sound of her body to relax into the bed sheets. Once he heard the faint creak of the mattress, he pulled himself up from the couch and crept across the floor before slipping into her bed. He'd perfected the act so many years ago, that he did it without absolute silence.

Even Lucy's body, if not her mind, had grown accustomed to him as her body wiggled backwards until she fit herself neatly against his chest. Her every curve and bend as she slept fit like a jigsaw into his body, even the arm he cast around her waist to tug her even further into him was snug around her hips. She'd grown taller and her curves were even more define and yet she was still the perfect size for his body to cocoon around hers.

Her back rubbed against his bare chest, having left his vest to drape over the other end of the bed, feeling a possessive satisfaction at seeing there. He tucked her head underneath his chin and let his body relax deeper than it had in months around hers, and her soft sleeping breaths filled his ears like a hypnotic chime.

In no time at all, he was lulled into a deep sleep.

It felt like only seconds before he was startled awake. His body, alert to the silence in the room, shook him awake. He relaxed once he became aware of the body next to him in the bed, her body turned away from him, blonde hair cast across the pillow, sleeping. His hand twinged and he was drawn to the tense ache in his muscles. He went to flex them but felt resistance, as if his hands were buried in a pile of tough mud. He eventually yanked on his arm until his hand became free and became all too aware of the liquid running down the inside of his arm.

His heart pounded with dread and he threw himself up to sit, somehow not waking Lucy as he brought his hand to his face. Black red claws faced back at him, a dark liquid, almost black in the shadows of the night ran down his skin, leaving a dark inky trail behind. His heart pounded against his chest in quick heavy thuds, the fear turning his warm body to ice as he pulled his hand closer to his face. He pressed a nail under his nose and took a sharp breath.

Natsu panicked, throwing himself out of bed, his eyes chained to his hands. The metallic iron smell was instantly recognizable. Natsu moved his gaze up his arm, his body armoured in the black red scales shimmering in the darkness. Natsu took a long deep breath before opening his mouth. "Lucy!" Natsu hissed, trying to wake her up. She didn't stir. "Lucy."

_How much can one girl sleep through?_ "Lucy, wake u-"

And that was when he noticed the silence.

The utter, eerie silence, where not even the whispers of a breath could be heard.

Not one breath.

Clouds must have cleared in the sky as moonlight flooded the room, just as the quilt slipped, revealing the body laid still in the bed. Natsu eyes moved with the slowing of time, taking in the stillness of her chest, the pale pallor to her skin and the three embedded lines cutting deep into her hips.

Claw marks.

Natsu couldn't breath, couldn't feel through the numbness of his body as he heard the rumble of distant thunder. His eyes seemed to rise on their own to the window as the clouds stole the light again. He looked into his reflection but it wasn't himself he was looking at.

It was the red eyes staring back at him.

Lightening struck the window pane as the fangs flashed against his lips. He pressed his tongue to his teeth and felt the numb strike of its sharp edge against the muscle, the metallic taste of blood absent from his mouth as his skin began to burn. He felt it go from his mouth to his stomach, the heat flaring like a fire inside of him that wasn't his own. This one burned him and hurt him like a fist in his stomach.

He staggered and dropped to his knees, his eyes going face to face with a white eyed Lucy, turned around and staring back at him with the milky white of her dead eyes. He couldn't define between the agony, the pain of Lucy or his body tearing him up inside, but eventually his eyes were torn away from the terrified expression on her face.

His chest was near black, but what caught his attention was the hole gaping from his stomach, blood pouring like a never ending river pouring onto the floor.

Footsteps behind him shocked him out of his trance and when he looked down the blood was gone.

"LUCY!" Voices boomed as his team came stampeding forwards.

Wendy cried out and they all rushed forwards, to Lucy's limp body, trying to use her magic. "Why won't it work?" Wendy cried.

Carla's hand pressed down on Wendy's shoulder. "She's gone."

"No!" Wendy cried, dropped onto Lucy's chest and holding her.

"Lucy! Lucy! Wake up!" Happy cried, pushing at her cheek over and over to wake up. Erza stood as still as a statue, looking down onto the bed.

Lucy's limp mouth opened, her head falling to one side as her eyes looked straight at him.

"It...it was an accident! I swear!" Natsu yelled. "I- I didn't mean to. I-"

"You've done this." Gray said. He stood beside Natsu, suddenly feeling so far away from where his friends gathered around her body, as if looking in from the outside with Gray by his side. "Look at what you've done!" He bellowed.

"But, I-"

"You killed her."

And suddenly, his friends surrounded him, each of their faces terrified with fear as looked down at him, a roar caged in his lungs threatening to break free. A whisper sat on all of their lips.

"Monster."

**NATSU**

Natsu gasped, leapt and stumbled backwards, the floor turning from soft and marshy to hard and solid in a second. He scrambled backwards across the ground until his head ricocheted hard off the wooden frame of the couch. His hands slipped from propping up his body with cold sweat as his heart hammered in his chest, his body still desperately trying to run but not comprehending the object blocking his path.

He slipped and light burned his eyes as daybreak spilt through the windows. He flinched away, and like an electric shock, felt himself thrown back into reality.

Lucy stirred and sat up from the bed, her hair in a wild mess, a cute dazed look on her face as she scanned the room. She jerked and seemed to shock herself awake and Natsu remembered their conversation from the night before.

He leapt from his position by the couch despite his body's protest and stepped into her line of sight . At the sight of him, she seemed to relax, but it didn't last long. Her morning smile contorted into concern as she registered his facial expression. "Natsu, are you okay?"

"Fine." Natsu answered, a little too quickly. He dropped onto the edge of the bed, running his hands through his hair before turning to face her.

Her eyes scowled in assessment as she watched him fiddle with his hands. She reached forwards and wrapped her hands around his. He flinched and he'd be damned if she didn't catch it.

"Natsu," Lucy said, her voice stern but pleading. "Tell me what's going on."

"Nothing." Natsu shrugged, trying to avoid her keen gaze.

A flash of pain crossed her face and she let go of his hands. "So what?" Lucy hissed, her body radiating anger and hurt. "So I have to tell you all of my worries, but you can't tell me yours?"

Natsu realised he'd made a mistake too late as Lucy shoved to her feet. She hesitated, her eyes going to him, and waiting for a split second before she gave an angry huff and went to her bathroom. Natsu noticed she was giving him a chance to speak. The truth sat on the tip of his tongue, and yet, it was also unwilling to leave his mouth.

He was scared, not just for the source of his fears, but also telling Lucy was an all new fear of its own. He knew it would hurt her to know how he was feeling, the truth of his reality he now lived in. But he also knew he would be hurting her by not telling her. Either way, he was going to hurt her. He just needed to figure out which one would hurt less.

His thoughts echoed as he heard the bathroom door swing open. Lucy stormed from the bathroom and gathered her things from the apartment before storming out and slamming the door shut behind her.

Natsu stared at the empty door for what felt like a long time before he finally looked away. He stood and moved to the window, catching movement in the corner of his eye. He looked to the window and found himself looking back. No fangs, or claws or blood.

"_Monster." _

Natsu shook his head as he bounded up onto the window ledge, casting one last look down at empty, clean, blood-free bed in the centre of Lucy's apartment.

He leapt down into the streets.

**LUCY**

Lucy found herself brooding at the bar.

Mirajane dusted glasses, flickering her gaze over to her once or twice every few minutes. She'd apologised to Mira as soon as she'd come into the bar and apologised to the rest of the guild for her behaviour yesterday. Of course, they'd all forgiven her.

But the moment she had told them her and Natsu were sorting it out, she felt her mood plummet. That horrible mix of upset, loneliness and slight hint of betrayal tasted bitter on her tongue. And despite how many times, she told herself to let it go, it wasn't a big deal, she just couldn't do it. Her hand tightened around the strawberry milkshake Mira had made and she continued doing the one thing she didn't think Natsu could bring her to do.

She sulked.

Yes, she knew she was sulking. Mira knew she was sulking. She was pretty sure the whole guild knew she was sulking too. And she despised it. It was such a pathetic thing to do, and yet, she couldn't help her self.

"Hey, Mira." Lucy whined. "Am I an untrustworthy person?"

Mira looked over her shoulder with a half-amused, half-concerned expression as she turned to face the blonde mage. "You're trustworthy." Mira answered, focusing her gaze on the slumped pile over the bar that seemed to breath every few minutes.

Lucy whimpered.

"Did someone say you're not?" Mira asked, raising her eyes just high enough to subtly scan the bar. No doubt for a pink-haired something that Lucy wouldn't say the name of.

"No." Well, not in so many words.

"Then where'd this come from?"

"Nowhere." Lucy sighed, looking down into her drink.

Nowhere, being Natsu of course. She didn't even have to say it for Mira's eyes to ring true. Mira knew in a heartbeat it was Natsu, whether Lucy lied about it or not. And this time of all times, Mira didn't seem to want to beat around the bush with her.

"What did Natsu say?"

"Nothing." Lucy growled.

"Nothing?" Mira's face held obvious confusion.

"That's the problem." Lucy explained, swinging her arms about enough to inspire Mirajane to move her glass.

Lucy felt her misery increase as she pulled her glass back and looked into the depths of the pink liquid as if it held the answers to the world. "I told him everything," Lucy offered. "And yet, when it comes to him, he won't talk to me."

Mira digested the information, and thought it over, looking down into the puppy dog eyes staring back at her. "Maybe he doesn't want to upset you?"

"Upset me? How?"

"Well, when you told him about _everything,_" Mira said vaguely, though Lucy knew she was explaining the _everything _that she had confessed to her this morning. "It might have upset him that you felt that way."

"I upset him?" Lucy squeaked.

"_No._" Mira sighed, pressing her palm to her head as if it would help her word her meaning better. "I mean, when someone you care about is upset, it's natural to feel upset about them being upset."

"Oh." Lucy said, catching the dig at herself in Mira's words. She had done the same to everyone in the guild, and now she was on the receiving end.

"But if he knows I'm upset about it, why won't he tell me?"

"Shouldn't you know that best?"

_Because he didn't want to hurt her more with the truth. _\- And that was exactly why she had never had told Natsu about it, not that she didn't feel better after telling him, it was a whole weight of her shoulders, but still...

"I get it and yet," Lucy sighed. "It feels as if he doesn't trust me. Not like the way I trust him."

"I think it's worse for Natsu of all people." Mira said, looking into the distance of the guild like Natsu would be there, but Lucy knew he wasn't. She'd sense him if he was nearby. "You left him two years ago and now he's finally got you back, he might be scared of pushing you away."

"I won't leave him." Lucy promised.

"Fear is an unreasonable thing." Mira said with parting words as she turned and walked away and off into the crowd of the guild, leaving Lucy alone at the bar.

Lucy looked down into her pink drink. "Yeah," she sighed. "I know."

**NATSU**

Training with Gray was gruelling at best. Why, of all people, Dante had entrusted his training to Gray was still a mystery to him. Maybe the man was messing with him. Hell knows, they didn't have the best relationship. Neither could be in a room with each other without one of them tempting to rip the other's head off.

Gray fired a little ice bullet that hit Natsu share in the chest. It shattered into his skin, embedding itself into his muscle. "You're not paying attention." Gray scolded.

Natsu scowled at the little hard ice shards, fighting to stay solid as Natsu slowly allowed his body heat to increase at a steady rate under his control. Gray's ice still held solid against his skin as Natsu began to hike up into the hundreds. His ability to keep ice solid was stronger than it had ever been, and was just as annoyingly so.

He focused hard on controlling his temperature, pushing from the limit of his dragon slaying abilities, into his dragon force scale. His hands and gums throbbed with the need to extend his needle sharp fangs and claws and his skin irritated and itched like a rash as he suppressed his scales from surfacing too. He knew his eyes flashed red with the flicker of the filter washing across his eyes and fading back.

"Is it Lucy?" Gray asked, sitting by his spot in the grass in the woods out the back of the guild. He held the trigger of the ice weapon in one hand, while a black one sat by his side in a position that would give his speed an advantage.

"No." Natsu grunted through his panting heaves. He felt through sensations rather than the stupid thermometer imagery that Gray had suggested he used, and felt the heat centre on the point of the ice. His skin was sweating more than the ice as Natsu reached about six-hundred-degrees inside his body and a few of the smaller shards had began to melt.

"You told her about your training?" Gray asked, his voice appearing to be amused, but his body was saying everything but that. Gray was on guard, never letting his attention waver from training. Sometimes the seriousness annoyed him to the point that he almost told him to relax, but then he always thought better of it.

"I've told her enough." Natsu breathed, fighting the feeling of his skin threatening to peel off as he reached seven-hundred.

"Which means you told her, but not _really _told her." Gray countered.

"You know, this whole conversation part... is stupid." Natsu growled. Seven-fifty. The bigger shards began to slip just as the smaller shards deformed into limp slush.

"It's to test your concentration. The best way to calm you down is to probably talk to you if you ever get out of hand. And you're avoid the topic."

_Probably. _The key word couldn't take up as much room in that sentence if it tried, because both he and Gray knew that if he really did "get out of hand" as Gray put it, there would be no talking to him.

"Don't care. Don't want to...talk about it." Natsu said between heaves. Seven-forty Five.

"'Need to. Like I've said before, Lucy's a trigger." Gray said, balancing the weight of the ice gun, as if tempted to shoot him again for the hell of it. Bastard.

"You going to tell her?"

"No." Natsu ground through his teeth, rising up to eight-hundred as the biggest ice sharp began to shrink as water ran down the spine of the shard and turned to gas with a hiss the second it touched his skin.

He twitched his pectoral muscle and jerked the shard to shift. Gray scowled, pointing the ice gun at his chest for cheating. Natsu returned the scowl, baring his teeth in a form of defiance. Gray's finger twitch.

"You push her away, she might leave." Gray said, without missing a beat. He also didn't miss a beat the second Natsu flinched. The flinch was the outcome of his momentary distraction, but what the pair had learned best in the last few months, it only took a moment to loose control.

The ice turned to ash as his body flew higher than one thousand degrees, the new leaves on the trees curling and crumbling to dust as the moisture was evaporated from them. The grass dried and crumbled under his feet as his claws broke through his skin, scales beginning to push up under his skin, and his eyes flashed a burning red. A roar rumbled in the belly of his chest as his fangs cut through his jaw. Fire leapt up and sealed the intruding marks from the ice bullet with a bucket of pain dousing over every inch of him that was burning.

He became aware of the splitting down his side and the sharp twinge in the side of his neck, like a knife of ice spreading dousing water over the fire in his body. First came the pain, then came the smell.

The sharp spike was like a needle up the nose, throwing his head back with a roar that went from animal to human in one shift. His claws were gone, his skin almost pale white, his fangs drawn in with stained red teeth and his eyes faded from red abandon to exhausted black.

Natsu slumped as his knees gave way beneath them, falling over the shoulder of his rival. Gray dragged his limb body to a charred tree before dropping him beside it. He helped Natsu sit back with an aching groan as his muscles protested.

Gray turned on his heels without a word or an inkling of expression as he leaned down and swiped the black gun from the floor. He opened the barrel and looked into the empty gun.

"Looking for these?" Natsu asked, plucking the brown feathered darts out of the side of his neck.

"I didn't think I'd have to use both." He grumbled, leaning down and picking up the empty darts before putting them in a case he retrieved from a withered bush. "This stuff is hard to come by, ya know."

"I know." Natsu sighed. His nose still burned with the left over Sol de Luna particles filtering through his blood, the stench rising from the sweat his body furiously expelled to cleanse his body from the dragon slayer weakness.

There was a long moment of silence, before Gray's spoke from nowhere. "Your control is getting worse."

The statement implied too much for Natsu's liking. It held too much foreboding and fear, too much uncertainty. So instead of rising to the conversation, and telling Gray of the fears he himself harbored inside, the dark thoughts that threatened to consume not only his sleep, but his sanity as well, and rose to his feet.

The little strength he had managed to keep himself upright as he staggered off towards the guild before thinking twice about it and heading deeper into the forest where he knew no one would find him except the darkness of his thoughts. Where he could allow his mind to reflect and his worries to surface without looking over his shoulder, and revealing everything he'd tried so hard to bury.

_Monster._

_If only they knew..._

* * *

_**Know what? What is Natsu hiding? And what monster is lurking inside?**_

_**-Find out in the next part of the epilogue ;) Keep tabs!**_

_**...**_

** If y****ou liked_ Never Let Go_ try checking out some of my other stories.**

**Don't forget to review, favorite and recommend to others.**

**If you want more _Never Let Go_ don't forget to follow!**

**-A-ccentric**


	20. Epilogue: People Change: Natsu 2

**So finally got around to part two, and it took a whole different to turn to what I was planning, but hey-ho I went with it and its ended up much better than I imagined, not to mention much longer. So this is no the end, my friends, there will be once again another chapter, but for now enjoy.**

* * *

Epilogue 2: People Change  
Part 2: Natsu

**NATSU**

Committing to a lie only brought pain, but it also brought determination. It was re-enforced every time he'd look down to find the same scene in front of him.

Today was no different.

His chest was beginning to calm, his hands no longer shaking and his heart no longer threatening to burst. He could hear breeze rustling the leaves of the trees, and after a delay, felt its soft fingers comb through his pink hair, damp with a thin layer of sweat. His jaws ached from being clenched for too much time, longing to put it down.

His eyes glided to his body, the lashings of red marks beginning to fade into scars that would soon fade into nothing. His muscles were near enough complete repairing themselves, the hot burn cool in comparison to everything he was used to by now.

Everything he should be in control of.

But as he looked around, the back of his head brushing against the charred bark he slumped against, he knew the truth. He wasn't in control. And unlike what everybody thought, it wasn't getting better.

It was getting worse.

He thought training more with Gray would help, going from once a week, to twice, thrice until he was bugging Gray to train with him every day. But that still wasn't enough. Nothing was enough.

And so he was here, his body repairing itself from a mangled mess. If anybody found him now, they'd be fortunate. Fortunate enough not to see how he was at first. Bones crushed, skin broken, blood painting his white skin under an array of unnatural black and blue bruises you couldn't tell each limb apart.

And so he lied to his guild. To his friends. To Lucy.

He couldn't tell them. He wished he could, knowing it was the right thing to do. And it wasn't because he didn't trust them that he didn't tell them. It was because he was scared. Scared that as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he'd have to accept the reality. Though it was stupid to think he was safe in silence, he still wanted to believe it anyway.

It also didn't escape him of the timer placed on his lie. No doubt when the timer ran out, everything would blow up; his friends would find the monster deep inside, and he doubted it would be playful and cuddly.

But for now, he was clinging to life, clinging with such a force he was like a parasite latched onto it, leaching out all the happiness he could before everyone began to lay down the bug spray.

Because they would. Once_ it_ from deep inside was released, they'd have no choice but to destroy him.

Defeating Enrique and coming back was one thing, his injuries knocking him back into his regular mind, but _this,_ whatever it was taking over him with each passing day, was in a whole other league.

Once out, it wouldn't be stopped.

Natsu hauled himself off the ground, placing two shaky legs underneath him that absorbed the strength to walk from inside within moments. Natsu grimaced, disgusted by the idea of using _that _laying half-asleep inside of him to function.

He pressed the thought deep in his mind and instead walked towards the guild, hoping to arrive back before anybody got suspicious.

What he didn't know, was that it was already too late for that.

…

**LUCY**

One month and six days. That was how long Natsu had been ignoring her.

Except, he spent every day with her, almost breathing down her neck when he wasn't spontaneously disappearing to god-knows where. Somewhere not even Erza, Gray or Happy could track him down to.

And she was mad.

Actually, she wasn't mad. She was furious. Mad was too much of an understatement for what she could use to describe her emotions, not to mention the other ones battling inside of her.

Concern? Frustration? Disappointment? Sadness? Betrayal? Loathing?

She should be happy he was spending time with her, being with her. His feet were right next to hers as she was stepping back into this life, the one she'd left behind and came back to reclaim.

Except the more they were walking, the more Natsu seemed to grow distant from her side. Even outside of the hypothetical sense, Natsu felt like he was getting further and further away.

He was still giving her the chase when she brought up the topic of what was bothering him.

That was were the anger came in.

Because as much as he'd like to say there was nothing up, there was. She could see it in his eyes, in the way he moved, even in the way he breathed. It was eating at him, the pain getting worse with each turn of the day.

And what could she do?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And that helplessness brought out the rage in her. Ever since two years ago, she vowed not to be submitted to that feeling. Instead, she was hooked by the heart on its fishing line again, one tug from tearing her apart. Even with all her skills, everything she'd learned, she couldn't escape it.

Lucy opened her mouth to swallow a mouthful of her smoothie, hoping to remove the bitter taste on her tongue, but knowing better than to expect it. She almost went for another, when she heard the doors ricochet from the wall with a thundering boom.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." Lucy grumbled under her breath, seconds before said Devil came flying half over her shoulders.

"Hey, Luce." Natsu grinned, his arm slung over her shoulder, nose nuzzling into the side of her neck.

She should have been an adult about it, really. Perhaps rethink her actions before acting on them, but after a whole five hours of thinking by herself, her hands just moved on their own.

Her hand pulled back the glass as Natsu jerked back from her, the content of her smoothie sliding down his face. He looked taken aback as she rose from the booth, setting the glass on the table with the faintest clink.

"What was that for?" Natsu screeched, trying to wipe the pink off his chest but seeming to spread it further over his body.

"You know what." She hissed.

She could see that flash of pain as his facade faltered for just a moment. And a moment was all she got before the walls came straight back up.

"What are you talking about, Luce?" Natsu laughed, waving her off.

And just as his walls came up, hers came down. Tears pooled in her eyes, some out of frustration and upset but most from that sense of loss welling in her chest.

"I can't do this with you any more, Natsu." Lucy whispered.

Natsu froze, his dark eyes growing wide and fear swallowing his face. His Adam's apple bobbed once then twice. "Luce?" He breathed.

The whole guild had gone silent by now, but Lucy didn't care. They could be painted on the wall paper for all the attention she gave them. And at the same time, she realised it couldn't be here. Her emotional break down would wait and for now, she'd hold onto that scrap of dignity she'd had left before Natsu took that final piece away from her with her own next words.

"No more." And just with that, she turned to walk out of the guild.

She got two steps before hands curled around her biceps, jerking her backwards. Natsu's pink tinted face burned with panic. "You can't leave me."

Can't leave _him_? _She _wasn't allowed to leave _him?_ "How _dare _you?" Lucy hissed, venom spitting from her tongue. She tore her arm out of Natsu's grip and whirled on him with an explosion of anger and spite that blackened her heart. "How dare you say that to me when all you've done is leave me behind!"

"I-" Natsu's opened his mouth to speak but Lucy didn't let him.

"No." She yelled, hysteria consuming her. "You do not get to tell me that you've been right beside me. Because you haven't. You haven't been here for a long time and you're getting further and further away. You're not here. You're somewhere else. Somewhere where I'm not apart of your world, where you can't trust me or respect me enough to tell me the god damn truth." She was aware of the tears rolling down her face, and aware of the hoarse roughness of her voice as her shouts fell into soft spoken words. "Where are you, Natsu?"

Natsu opened his mouth, as if was about to speak to her, but then it closed, sympathy and sadness burning in his eyes. And that was the only answer she needed.

"We're done." She whispered with a shake of her head.

She turned and left without one look back.

…

**NATSU**

He stood rooted in his spot. The deafening silence of the guild fell down around him as an ice colder than anything he'd ever felt before close in around his heart.

He was aware of the voices buzzing around him, but it was like being underwater, not understanding a single words spoken. All he could think of was the pain.

Everything he did, every lie he told, every time he'd evaded her..._this _was the consequence. While trying to hold her close, he'd pushed her away without realising. And now...now, he'd lost the very thing he held dearest.

So why did he feel relieved?

He couldn't comprehend the soothing in the dark part of his heart, even as the very organ was being ripped out of his chest, thrown to the floor and stomped on. He didn't understand. Somewhere deep down he must do, but right then, he could only know the agony.

Even so, he didn't tell her. The truth had sat on the tip of his tongue, but he'd swallowed it down with the bile that had risen in his throat.

That stupid, stupid lie. Why couldn't he tell the truth? Why couldn't he tell her? What was wrong with him?

Something. Something was wrong with him. He was getting worse, getting dangerous and yet he couldn't trust his friends. Lucy was right. He was living in a hell where he couldn't trust anyone. And that revelation, shook him right to the core.

"NATSU!" Gray's voice yelled, snapping him from his thoughts for a heart beat.

Then he felt the burn.

It was like acid being poured onto his skin, his fingers felt torn and his jaw like two hot prongs were embedded into them. That horrible rumbling roar ravaged down his throat. And this time, he couldn't stop it.

He roared.

...

**LUCY**

She couldn't breath. She couldn't think. She couldn't cope.

Her feet were carrying her far and fast, as if her stupid body thought she could escape the consuming pain radiating from within her.

His devastated face played over and over in her mind, guilt welling in her chest.

She shouldn't feel guilty! It was Natsu's fault. He was the one who had started this.

And she was the one who had ended it.

None of it made sense. She longed to go back to him, throw her arms around his neck and forgive him. Yet, she couldn't. She wouldn't let herself. No matter how much pain she was in, it would only hurt more to go back to who Natsu was now. The secrets, the lies, the distrust, she couldn't take it.

_No more, _her brain had said, and at last, her heart agreed.

The was only so much pain a girl could take.

So she carried herself far from the guild.

That was until she was knocked off her feet.

The force was like a sonic boom, a solid wall crashing against her back and throwing her ten feet forwards. She landed on her face, shrieking as her skin grazed across the grass hills.

She was thankful that she was away from pavement but her ribs would argue it would hurt the same. They ached as Lucy took slow easy breaths, trying to find the breath that was snatched out of her on impact.

With oxygen in her veins, she lifted herself up, humid air warming over her skin and moist mud sticking to the damp patches of her cheeks. She brushed it away on the back of her hand as she turned to the source and-

She froze.

Time seemed to slow as she saw the guild rumble and crack. The front half roared as the bricks lost a loosing battle and collapsed into a pile of rubble in the streets. The fairy tail sign laid on the top, streaks of black and hot embers burning at the wood.

All the air rushed from her lungs as she watched with devastation as members began to crawl up out of the brick.

Lucy pushed to her feet, about to race forwards.

A horrifying, monstrous cry rippled loud in her ears despite being over a mile away. It was shrill and pained and it felt as if it went right through her, digging down into the bone.

Whatever it was, it wasn't human.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, her feet came to a slow and shuddering stop.

Another figure emerged out of the billowing smoke, it was big and bulky and seemed to half-walk, half-crawl through the street as it moved in her direction. None of that was what had made her stop. It was what she saw through the alluding smoke that tore that final scrap of her heart and burnt it to a crisp.

Two red glowing eyes.

Any other day, a monster wouldn't faze her. But not this one. This one she recognised.

"Natsu." Lucy breathed.

"MOVE OUT THE WAY!" Gray's voice roared at the top of his lungs.

Funny thing is, despite the warning in his voice, she couldn't do as he asked. Her feet were rooted to the ground, her eyes glued to him as his body staggered out the smoke. Black red scales covered every inch of his skin. Red eyes burned like lanterns against the stark white shine of his jagged teeth, fangs brushing against his bottom lip, so sharp two trails of blood washed down his chin. His fingers flexed by his side, claws long and sharp, tearing into the torn trousers only just hanging onto his waist. His vest was gone, burnt to a cinder no doubt, but the white scale scarf was still there, unaffected and undamaged albeit dishevel.

His red eyes were jumping around, attack his surroundings with his senses until they landed on her.

Then he stopped still, everything around him closing in. It wasn't calm she saw in his eyes, but focus. Complete focus. On her.

Every instinct told her to run, but once again, her stupid heart pinned her to the ground, an iron anchor that refused to budge no matter how much her brain pulled.

So her brain gave up, and began to listen to my stupid heart. She watched with almost heightened senses as Natsu began to claw his way across the stone path. She had a vague awareness of her guild mates trying to scramble towards her, but they couldn't cross the distance in time.

She began to pick out the familiarities; that square jaw line, the small streaks of pink still left in his jet black hair, the almond shaped eyes, the six muscle ridges on his abdomen beneath the coloured scales. The length and breadth of his hands were the same as they used to be, expansing across the top half of his thigh, and on her, would consume the whole of her hip with even enough room for his fingers to graze against her back.

Horrible, consuming memories choked up in her throat, all the joy and the love they shared between them, the happiness and the kindness.

And that was when she realised. The emotion that held her still wasn't fear, it wasn't acceptance and not self-sacrificing.

It was love.

She stood to face Natsu's devil for the sake of love.

He was but a few strides from her now, one step covering the length of one house. Soon he'd be upon her. She felt the power he had to destroy her radiating from his body, and not even an ounce of fear reached the part where her heart and mind overlapped, in the very spot her feet remained.

He dropped to all fours, doubling his stride and then there was only a few feet between the two of them.

She thought for a moment, that he'd run right past her, ignore her, leave her behind.

He didn't.

Instead, he stopped, head bowed low to the ground, eyes looking up at her. They look hungry, uncontrolled and for just a moment, as they really looked at her, there was a flicker of hesitation. But it died too soon. His arm came up, claws elongating even more and that was the second, her brain broke free.

Fear rippled through her and out through her mouth as a scream tore from my lips, seconds before her inevitable doom. But it was too late now. Her delayed instinct had dropped her right into the jaws of the monster. She could do nothing but wait for it to bite.

But just as the hand came across her face, it jerked to a stop, a brighter red flickering through his eyes. Then it was followed by a screech.

The pained cry tore out from its jaws as the silver line cut straight through his wrist. It stopped halfway and flew straight out the wound, ready to slam down again.

Instead, Natsu turned and a tail sliced through the air. When he'd spawned the tail she didn't know, but the shoulder hitting her waist didn't give her time to stop and wait.

Arms wrapped around her and all of a sudden they were moving with impossible speed and deftness, dodging the tail lunging for them. Separated edges tore through the armoured skin alone the spine of the tail, a weapon born to kill.

"Dante!" Lucy yelped in surprise, her stomach bouncing hard up and down on his shoulder. Her hands fisted the back of the material of his shirt, desperate not to fall off despite the secure grip around the backs of her thighs.

They flew into the trees and a wooden shield rose up and around them. Dense spacing through the woods made Dante's turns sharper and a whole lot scarier from upside down.

"Are you stupid?" Dante growled, a slight edge to his voice indicating the expelling of effort, yet he gave nothing more. He had to be running at top speed. Trust Dante to make everything seem effortless. Trust him to be the first to snap at her too.

"I don't make it a habit to be." Lucy managed through snatched breaths when her body bounced away from the hard ridge of his. She pushed up on his back, trying to look behind them but all she could see was trees. They must have lost Natsu.

"Yet, you manage to find trouble where ever you go." He responded.

"I think this is the most I've ever heard you talk." Lucy grumbled back, before her hands slipped on his silk coat and her face smashed into his spine. "Ow."

"I'd put you down but I doubt you'd be able to out race _that._" The bitterness hanging in Dante's words made her heart clench.

"He's not a _that."_ She hissed. "It's Natsu."

Dante was quite for a second, the soft sounds of racing feet barely audible to the untrained ear darting through the forest. She noticed his free hand gripped in a tight lock around the handle of his extraordinary long sword.

"Trust me, Lucy." Dante said, his voice sombre with depth she couldn't place. "_That _is no longer Natsu."

Lucy's heart stopped. She could feel the truth of his belief in her words and it hit hard against her own.

"It has to be." She whispered, aware of the whimper sliding from between her lips. "I can't lose him again."

Dante's hands squeezed around her legs. "He's already gone."

At that second, Natsu took that moment to appear.

A raging screech echoed in the air as he burst from the sides of the trees, knocking over hundred-year-old oaks like twigs. She scrambled to look up once more, and the first thing her silly brain did was to look for those similarities again.

Except this time, there was none.

There was no strong jaw, or soft hands, no almond-shaped eyes, no human figured muscles. Instead his hands had merged into huge paws, face elongated with sharp white teeth, eyes all but small beads, burning like red fire.

There was no piece of Natsu left for her to hold onto.

The pain welled up in her heart and her voice broke on her cry. "Natsu!" She screeched, one last plea breaking through her body. "Natsu, I know it's you!"

She couldn't give up. Not yet. Not until she was sure.

"Lucy!" Dante shouted, growling as he had to duck and dodge under a tree.

"Natsu, I know you're there." She persisted. "You're there somewhere. A- and you're strong, so stop wasting time and stop this. Come back. Come back!"

"It's useless." Dante said. "Not even Sol de Luna works on him now, and from what I suspect, it won't work for a while."

That was when Natsu decide to leap. He sailed through the air with more prowess than even Dante expected. He was coming right for us.

"Dammit!" Dante growled. He dropped his shoulder, allowing both him and Lucy to go tumbling down the ground into brush as Natsu went sailing over them. At their speed though, they went sailing straight through the sharp thorns and hedges, scratching every inch of her skin. But onwards she went tumbling, just like her life until her head hit the solid feeling of rock and she stopped.

For a few moments, while she remained concious, she saw as Natsu's long, timber body stalked towards her, his eyes wide with hunger, mouth drooling into pools on the crushed grass.

Her vision began to fade as he got closer, and she was aware of Dante's voice calling out to her. From where, she had no idea. Not that she'd be able to move. Everything in her body was numb, so once again all she could do was watch as he walked towards her.

He opened his mouth, ready to drop his jaw around her, and her brain did the right thing for once. It let her sink into darkness as the monster's teeth dropped around her.

That was the moment, Lucy accepted her reality. She was sure of it now.

Natsu was gone.

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**-A-ccentric**


	21. Epilogue: People Change: Natsu 3

**That's it now for the Epilogue of Never Let Go, it's all over :( But I suppose this can be a Christmas gift to you guys. You best enjoy it, you'll get no more for this story, but feel free to check out my other ones :)**

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Never Let Go: Epilogue  
People Change: Natsu 3

**LUCY **

"ICE MAKE: SHIELD!" Gray's voice yelled, his body appearing in front of her.

She watched as everyone moved around, as if she was watching from afar, her conciousness somewhere safely buried inside of her. She could move and her emotions were dull at best as she watched her friends protect her.

An ice sculpture formed from the air just as the monster's face smashed into the glass and let out a roar as it staggered back. It had no time to orientate itself as Erza descended from the air in her heaven's armour, her swords accompanying her own one as they crashed into the back of the beast. The force didn't break his scales but the weight shoved him to the ground with a quashed screech.

Makarov rose out of the trees in his full height and glory as his hands slammed down over the beast to keep it pinned as the Raijinshuu raced out of the foliage.

Levy and Freed began scripting into the air, a barrier rising up out of the ground as Makarov jerked his hands back. They were black and the burnt skin was peeling away from the welts covering them as he shrunk to normal size.

Wendy came running towards Lucy, her eyes focused on her but as a rock caught under her foot, she tripped forwards, turning to land on her side. She skidded before beginning to pull herself to her feet when she stopped. Her eyes jerked to Natsu, her whole body going still.

Lucy thought it was the shock as many of the guild members stood wide-eyed. But as she looked around, she noticed Wendy wasn't the only dragon slayer stunned at the sight. Gajeel and Laxus both stood facing Natsu, their eyes too unfocused and still to be natural. It was unnerving. Frightening.

"Dragon...sla..."

"Don't talk, Lucy." Gray snapped, his sheild still covering the both of them from the rays of heat the monster was releases, as he rose up out of the ground. It saw the shield around it and lowered to the ground.

It launched itself at the barrier, the one they thought would keep it contained, and broke straight throught the wall. Purple glass-like material dissolved into the earth as the beast broke free, turning straight towards the guild members.

"Dragon slayers!" Lucy hissed harder, watching the way Gajeel, Wendy and Laxus stood to attention at the sight of the freed monster.

"What?" Gray yelled, as the faintest sound of whistling air began to grow louder and louder and louder.

A gust of wind shook the trees with such a force, everyone faught to stay standing. A cut off screech caught Lucy's attention as her eyes glided towards the monster...except it wasn't there. A trail of destruction lay in the wake of where the beast was sent flying. Chunkes of the earth were flown and scattered up at the great canyon left.

Dante dropped to his feet from the sky, his shoulders falling up and down, his hand shaking as it fought to hold onto the long blade with his clawed hands-

...clawed?

Dante turned to look at the direction the monster was sent flying, and Lucy's mind stirred. Dark green scales rose up and out of his skin, the woven bracelette he always wore straining against the thickening of his wrist. Two small canine stuck out like prongs out of his mouth, stark white against the darkned colour of his face.

A gasp echoed somewhere and Dante turned to face them, and all the scales were gone. His skin was clear, hand steady. Lucy would have thought she was mistaken before, perhaps the result of the concussion if not for that faint glimmer of dark green fading from his eyes.

His eyes ran across them all, pausing momentarily on the faces of the dragon slayer's that seemed to have broken out of whatever trance they were in, but as they fell on Lucy's they stopped. Something flashed past his famous blank mask, and Lucy didn't recognise it.

Dante nodded in her direction before he turned to look at the group. "Don't follow me any further than this." Dante warned. "Especially those three." He said, pointing the tip of his blade in each direction of the dragon slayers.

"That's Natsu." Gray growled. "We get to go."

"That's not Natsu." Dante said, looking back out in the direction. "Not any longer."

"But-"

Before Gray could argue anymore, or Erza who had started to walk towards them with Happy clinging to her shoulder, a horrifying screech overtook the air with a boom that shook the very ground they stood on.

Dante turned and without further argument, seemed to disappear in a blink of an eye.

Tension hung in the air. Do they stay or do they fight? The answer would be clear, but that wasn't the reason they were stood at this impasse. Should they fight, they would believe Natsu could be brought back, and if they stayed, they accepted fate and they accepted the fact that Natsu was gone.

A scuffle of dirt broke the suffering silence as Gray turned to look in the direction of destruction. His steps were slow but they began to move faster and faster as they moved into a jog, then a run and soon he was sprinting to catch up with them.

Gray slammed into a hard wall and bounced back to where he stumbled and fell. "What the hell, Laxus?" Gray growled.

"There's nothing you can do." Laxus said, holding his position firm. "We've lost one guild member today, we don't need to lose another." His gaze, although meant for Gray, flickered over towards where Lucy laid beneath the tree, her breathing soft, barely there.

At that thought, Wendy came running over to where Lucy laid prone on the floor, turning her over onto her back when she rose her hands up and over her chest, a blue light beginning to emitting from them.

Lucy looked into the blue of the sky, the leaves rustling just in the corner of her eyes. The branches seemed to build up in a spiral around the trunk of the tree, small shadows covering her right side. She was faintly aware of someone calling her name, but it seemed to mix into the sounds of the wind billowing through the tree tops.

She looked at the lowest branch and saw Natsu sitting on it, looking down at her. It wasn't really Natsu, she knew that. But somehow he seemed to battle away the darkness encroaching on the edges of her vision. He smiled his goofy smile, and her heart pinched with pain. He didn't say anything to her, neither did she. They seemed to used to talk about everything, but when it came down to it, they didn't really need to. Moments like this, real or not, where all they really needed. Just the comfort of each other.

Natsu hopped down from the tree in one graceful jump as he landed by her side. He dropped to his knees beside her, before placing his hands on either side of her head and leaning down to place a soft kiss on her cheek. A single tear raced down her face but she wasn't sure why. She felt at peace, comforted, loved and as Natsu reached down and held onto her hand within his, she felt grounded.

Natsu would never let him go.

The words were like a cavern swallowing her whole. Memories flashed past her eyes too fast and too many; every single piece of their life they'd built together like a tidal wave drowning her until she'd swallowed every single emotion choking her throat. They tears poured out, overflowing down her cheeks as she tried to retain everything but it was slipping away. In her tears, their life was flowing out and she was loosing it.

She tried to make it stop, cupping her tears in her palms but there was too much water...she couldn't...she was losing him.

She gasped and looked up from where she laid on the floor, the tree swaying above her, the faint tingling of Natsu's hand on hers.

"LUCY!" Gray yelled, looking down at her. Her mind seemed to swim for a moment as she clutched her hand tighter to her. At that moment, she couldn't be sure if it was the concious, but her mind seemed to filter out everything unnecessary. She didn't need sound. She didn't need communication. She didn't even need words.

She just needed _him. _

Lucy pushed herself to her feet, staggering as she moved forwards across dirt land and burnt grass. A wall placed itself in her way, and her body removed it.

Then she ran, ran harder and faster than her body could cope with. Her mind was inside a tunnel and her body was a separate part of her. She didn't feel the earth under her feet, or the ache of her bruised muscles and probably broken ribs, nor the burn of her lungs begging for oxygen. She was on auto drive and nothing would stop her.

She saw the edge of the cliff come up but didn't stop. The end of the track and the broken dirt of the fight passed beneath her feet.

They were nowhere to be seen.

But she didn't need to seem them.

All he had to do was see her.

"NATSU!" She screamed as she leapt.

For that one tiny moment as she slowed in the air, a wave of confidence made any fear disappear from her body. She felt calm, she felt relieved. Her eyes closed as her body stopped rising and slowed to a stop.

And then came the fall.

…

**NARRATOR**

Lucy's arms held onto him with all her could. Their hole in the wall began to crumble with the weight of the cliff ready to collapse in around them. She ignored the burning heat rippling over her skin, turning it red and raw. She ignored the sharp pain of the needle-like claws buried into her skin. She ignored the echoing sounds of the monster's growling. She hung tight, and although she couldn't reach all the way around its neck, her arms still wouldn't loosen.

"Natsu." She whispered, a single tear running down her cheek. The small drop fell from her chin and landed against the hard scales of the beast, hissing as it met the hot bone and evaporating. It gave a low growl and gave a small tug but didn't pull hard enough to hurt her.

It struggled with the confines of the space their bodies were trapped in, moving would force the rocks to fall and would crush the human child, but the monster would be able to break free.

The monster didn't move. Despite all its instincts probably telling it to cause destruction and mayhem, it stayed still.

"Natsu," Lucy whispered. "Natsu, I know you're in there. You're scared and you want to protect us. You think that if you show us how dangerous you are, we'll stay away and we'll be safe." Lucy sobbed, a bitter chuckle breaking past her lips. "But it doesn't work that way." She shook her head and buried her face deeper under its jaw. "You don't get to leave us like this. You don't get to leave _me." _

"No matter who, or _what _you are Natsu, I'll accept it all." Her voice was soft and broken by her endless sobs, and her ribs, broken and bruised made way as her lungs took one last shallow breath.

"I'll never let you go."

The beast roared, the cry turning deep and guttural. It hurt to hear it, but not because of the volume or the ferocity. This one was pained. So deeply pained that it wounded the hearts of everyone who heard it. And those within a fifty mile radius was brought to their knees.

Lucy felt a pulse under her skin and as she opened her eyes she felt her body lowering and her arms moving further and further around the width of the beast's neck. The cave gave out a roar and the chunks of rock began dropping down in growing size. It was unable to hold them up any more.

Lucy tightened her hold around the beast neck, her fingers managing to interlock around it now, and held on. Even if the cave crashed down around them, she'd never let them go.

Never again.

She took one last breath and braced against the beast's body.

The cave collapsed.

…

LUCY

Darkness.

Coldness.

Hardness.

Lucy could feel the dull pain down her arms but it was dulled. Both her arms were being crushed between rocks and something equally as solid and painful. Her legs were in a similar position. Something hard dug into her shoulder but her stomach and her chest were numb, as if there was nothing push on them.

She took a deep breath to test the pain but her ribs protested and she ended up choking on the dryness of her throat. The air felt thin and her body broke out into small, shallow pants. Her face shifted and she felt softness brush against her cheek. She gasped and tried to move but a sharp awareness of pain shot through her system and everything began to throb. Big mistake.

"Don't...move." A rough voice growled.

Lucy stilled.

She recognised that voice.

Emotion filled her chest, making it even harder to breath and even harder to think.

"...Natsu?"

"Yeah, Luce." Natsu whispered back, the sound coming from right besides her ear. "I'm back."

"But-" Lucy tried to hold back her sobs and failed. "How?"

"I happen to have this very stubborn girl of mine that wouldn't let me stay where I belonged." Natsu whispered back. She couldn't see him but she began all too aware of what it was keeping the stones from crushing her chest and stomach. Natsu's body was above her and her crushed arms were pressed against his back where her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her legs in a mangled mess with his, his face above hers.

"You don't belong inside a monster, Natsu." Lucy whispered, pressing her face towards his until their cheeks pressed against each other. His felt cold to the touch and she was aware that her own skin musn't have been much warmer.

"...Agree to disagree." Natsu suggested. "We can talk about this later."

"Considering we're trapped inside a cliff and the only air we have is the one running out between us, now may be our only chance." Lucy whispered. "How did you break free?"

"I love you." Natsu whispered so quiet Lucy almost missed it. "I love you so much it hurts. And to think I could hurt you or kill you, it kills me too. It was too scared to tell you but too selfish to let you go and if I couldn't live you, I-"

Natsu's voice fell into silence and Lucy moved her cheek against his to encourage him to talk. He nuzzled back against hers but for a while, he still didn't speak.

Then out of nowhere, he spoke. "It wouldn't matter if I was a monster or not. I'd be dead inside."

"Natsu-"

"I know you said you accept me Lucy, even _it. _But even we were to get out of here, I'm not safe. Not anymore. I can't stay with you."

Panic bloomed in her chest and she tried to summon any strength she had to tighten her hold on him but she couldn't. "You can't leave me, Natsu."

"I can. And I will, Luce. Maybe not right now, but soon. I'm leaving. And unless I get this power under control, I won't be coming back. Even if that means I stay away forever."

"No!" Lucy cried. "No, I won't let you."

"I love you, Luce." Natsu whispered.

"No..." Lucy's voice fell into a broken sob. "...don't leave me."

"I love you." Natsu just repeated and Lucy felt her heart break. No matter what would she allow him to leave her. But no matter what she'd say, Natsu wouldn't change his mind.

He'd leave her.

And there was nothing she could do to change that.

Lucy cried and even as the air grew thinner she just cried harder, sucking up all the oxygen. Their consciousnesses faded long before the air did, and just as the air all but disappeared, they were found, bound to each other in a pile of rubble.

As if they'd never let each other go.

…

**LUCY**

_Ten months later..._

The wind brushed through her hair, standing on the balcony overlook Magnolia city. A door opened behind her, on fresh new hinges that didn't creak or wobble on loose screws. The new guild building allowed for a little splurging and Lucy still didn't want to give up her apartment for a new room.

She just like to stand here sometimes, looking out on the view on the docks as if she might spot him as a tiny speck on the harbour, and be able to run and greet him.

"Still nothing?" Gray said as he stepped up to the balcony beside her. Lucy shook her head.

Natsu had been true to his word.

As soon as he felt that power stirring inside of him, he'd left.

He still hadn't returned.

"Maybe he'll be back soon." Gray suggested.

"Maybe." Lucy said, but her voice portrayed no confidence.

But even if he wasn't back soon.

She knew he'd be back.

One day.

**END**

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**Damn, I miss this story. There's also more potential for another story going on from this one...Hmmm... Guess you'll guys will just have to wait and see :)**


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